3 Facebook posts lands anti-lese majeste lawyer with another 4 years in jail
The Criminal Court added another four years to the prison sentence of a lawyer-cum-activist after finding him guilty of breaching the lese majeste law through three Facebook posts.
On Wednesday, the court found Arnon Nampa, 40, guilty of defaming the monarchy through three Facebook posts in January 2021, in which he criticised the enforcement of Article 112 of the Criminal Code.
The lawyer has devoted himself to campaigning against the use of Article 112 or the draconian lese majeste law as a political tool against opponents. He has also been trying to help activists who have been charged with breaching Article 112 and has become the leader of the so-called Rassadorn Protest Group.
On January 11, 2021, Naengnoi Assavakittikorn, a lawyer at a centre that helps victims of cyberbullying, filed a complaint with the Crime Suppression Division against Arnon, saying he violated the lese majeste law via his three Facebook posts on January 1 and 3, 2021.
On June 23, 2021, Arnon was summoned to hear the charges of breaching Article 112 and the Computer Crimes Act.
Then on November 12, 2021, public prosecutors charged Arnon in court, accusing him of defaming and expressing hatred towards the King.
On Wednesday, the Criminal Court ruled that Arnon’s Facebook posts violated Article 112 and the Computer Crimes Act.
The court said Arnon would be given the severest punishment under Article 112, or four years in jail. This term will start after Arnon has served four years in prison in another lese majeste case.
Earlier, the Criminal Court sentenced Arnon to four years in jail and fined him 20,000 baht for making defamatory remarks against the King during a rally at the Victory Monument in 2020.
With the new sentence, Arnon will be behind bars for eight years.
