Man jailed for 50 years for criticising Thailand’s king under monarchy law

One of Australia’s neighbours has thrown a young man in jail for 50 years after he shared a Facebook post railing against the king.

Thailand has sentenced a young man to 50 years in jail after he shared a Facebook post criticising the country’s monarchy.

Mongkol Thirakot, 30, was arrested in April 2021 over 27 posts he made on Facebook during March and April that year.

He was originally found guilty of 14 posts that were said to have defamed Thailand’s monarchy and sentenced to 28 years in prison.

But on Thursday, an appeals court found Mr Thirakot guilty of 11 more violations and added an extra 22 years to his sentence, making it the harshest punishment ever handed down under Thailand’s controversial lese majeste law.

Mongkol Thirakot makes a pro-democracy gesture. Picture: Facebook.

At the hearing on Thursday, the judge said he had already reduced Mr Thirakot’s sentence by one-third because of the defendant’s co-operative behaviour.

Details of what prompted such a harsh sentence for Mr Thirakot, an online clothing vendor from the northern Chiang Rai province, have not been published, nor has the content of his posts.

Generally, Thai courts pile on additional convictions and sentences for each instance of lese majeste.

The laws protect King Vajiralongkorn and his close family from any criticism. Picture: Linh Pham/Getty Images

Lese majeste — or crime against the sovereign — law criminalises any negative comment about Thailand’s monarchy.

The laws have been widely criticised and carry a sentence of between three and 15 years in prison for each offence.

Anyone — ordinary citizens as well as the government — can bring lese majeste charges on behalf of the king or his close family, even if they are not directly connected to the case.

Lese majeste laws were briefly suspended when King Vajiralongkorn took the throne in 2019 but were revived after student-led protests broke out and widespread antimonarchy sentiment bloomed.

More than 260 activists have been charged since the laws were revived, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR).

Huge anti-government protests broke out when the law was briefly suspended in 2019. Picture: Sirachai Arunrugstichai/Getty Images

On Wednesday, the day before Mr Thirakot’s sentence was extended, another prominent activist and lawyer had his prison sentence extended from four to eight years.

Later this month Thailand’s Constitutional Court will determine whether to dissolve Move Forward, the youth-led party that won the most votes in last year’s general election, over its call to amend lese majeste law, which some Thai conservatives argue was an attempt to overthrow the political order.

Mr Thirakot will once again try to appeal his sentence at Thailand’s supreme court, TLHR said.