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Man jailed for 20 years for texts offensive to Thai queen
Source: Agencies |
November 24, 2011, Thursday
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THAILAND'S criminal court yesterday sentenced a 61-year-old man to 20 years in prison for sending text messages deemed offensive to the country's queen.
The court found Amphon Tangnoppaku guilty on four counts under the country's lese majeste and computer crime laws, sentencing him to five years in jail for each charge.
Lese majeste is the crime of insulting a monarch, and Thailand's laws against it are the most severe in the world. Even repeating the details of an alleged offense is illegal.
The court said Amphon sent offensive text messages to a personal secretary of then Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. Amphon denied the charges, saying he was unfamiliar with the text message function on mobile phones and did not know the recipient of the messages.
Lese majeste arrests and convictions in Thailand peak during times of instability, when the law is used by political rivals to harass opponents. That has been the case since a 2006 military coup ushered in years of political upheaval.
Amnesty International's Benjamin Zawacki condemned yesterday's verdict, accusing the government of suppressing freedom of expression.
He said: "Thailand has every right to have a (lese majeste) law, but its current form and usage place the country in contravention of its international legal obligations. Repression remains the order of the day in Thailand. Amphon is a political prisoner."
Amphon was arrested in August last year and detained in prison after being indicted by the public prosecutor for lese majeste.
Before his arrest, he lived with his wife, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren in a rented room on the outskirts of Bangkok.
The court found Amphon Tangnoppaku guilty on four counts under the country's lese majeste and computer crime laws, sentencing him to five years in jail for each charge.
Lese majeste is the crime of insulting a monarch, and Thailand's laws against it are the most severe in the world. Even repeating the details of an alleged offense is illegal.
The court said Amphon sent offensive text messages to a personal secretary of then Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. Amphon denied the charges, saying he was unfamiliar with the text message function on mobile phones and did not know the recipient of the messages.
Lese majeste arrests and convictions in Thailand peak during times of instability, when the law is used by political rivals to harass opponents. That has been the case since a 2006 military coup ushered in years of political upheaval.
Amnesty International's Benjamin Zawacki condemned yesterday's verdict, accusing the government of suppressing freedom of expression.
He said: "Thailand has every right to have a (lese majeste) law, but its current form and usage place the country in contravention of its international legal obligations. Repression remains the order of the day in Thailand. Amphon is a political prisoner."
Amphon was arrested in August last year and detained in prison after being indicted by the public prosecutor for lese majeste.
Before his arrest, he lived with his wife, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren in a rented room on the outskirts of Bangkok.
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