BANGKOK (AP) 鈥� A criminal court in Thailand on Thursday acquitted the popular leader of a progressive political movement on charges of defaming the king and violating the law on online activity.
Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, head of the group Progressive Movement, based on comments he made during a Facebook Live broadcast in 2021 about the awarding of a government COVID-19 vaccine production contract to a company owned by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
His comments were part of a general criticism that the government of then-Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha bungled its vaccination campaign by failing to ensure timely, adequate and effective supplies.
A press release from the Bangkok Criminal Court said Thanathorn鈥檚 comments overall aimed to criticize Prayuth and did not contain any malicious or defamatory message towards the king.
Thailand鈥檚 lese majeste law, also known as Article 112 of the Criminal Code, carries a prison term of up to 15 years for insulting the monarchy, but critics say it is often wielded as a tool to quash political dissent. The charge of breaching the Computer Crime Act is punishable by five years.
It is rare to see an acquittal in a royal defamation case. Thailand鈥檚 machinery of state remains deeply conservative. Its political establishment is sensitive about any perceived threats to the status of the country鈥檚 monarchy.
鈥淧ersonally, I feel relieved,鈥� Thanathorn said to reporters outside the court after the ruling.
He called for the rights of political prisoners to be respected.
鈥淭hey are not criminals in a literal sense,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey are in jail because they think and they speak.鈥�
Student-led pro-democracy demonstrations starting in 2020 had sought to bring changes to the lese majeste law, but protesters found themselves targets of prosecution under the same statute.
Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, a law advocate group, says that more than 290 people, many of them student activists, have been charged with violating Article 112 since early 2020.
The state attorney general鈥檚 office, the plaintiff in the case, said in a press release that it is considering whether to an appeal.
Thanathorn co-founded the now-disbanded Future Forward Party, which became a major political force after finishing third in the 2019 general election, just a year after it was established. It was especially critical of the military, a pillar of the country鈥檚 establishment with major influence over the government.
Thanathorn was forced out of Parliament in 2020 when a court ruled that he had broken an election law by previously owning shares in a media company. by the Constitutional Court the same year on charges of violating election laws on donations to political parties.
The party鈥檚 successor Move Forward Party won the most seats after the 2023 general election, a major win for the progressive movement after nearly a decade under military-backed rule, but conservative lawmakers blocked the party from forming a government.
It was after it was accused of violating the constitution by proposing an amendment of the law against defaming the royal family.
Its latest incarnation, the , came in second in and is now the main opposition party.
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