Thai 'royal insult' man gets 30 years jail

A Thai man has been jailed for 30 years for insulting the monarchy on Facebook.

A Thai military court has sentenced a man to 30 years in jail for Facebook posts deemed insulting to the country's revered monarchy.

The defendant pleaded guilty to posting six messages on Facebook that contravened Thailand's strict lese-majesty laws.

"It is the longest sentence handed out for such a case," said Poonsuk Poonsukcharoen from advocacy group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.

The ruling junta have used military courts to prosecute lese-majesty cases as the army considers the matter to be one of national security, Poonsuk said.

She added that a military court was likely to hand out harsher sentences than its civilian counterpart for such crimes.

Because the crime was committed under a period of martial law, the defendant has no right to appeal.


Share

1 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world