Arnon Nampa, a Thailand activist and lawyer, was handed his second conviction and sentenced to four additional years imprisonment on Wednesday for a case of royal defamation connected to social media posts from 2021. Accusations of defaming Thai royalty fall under the Thai Criminal Code, colloquially known as the lese-majeste law. See here for greater detail.
Nampa was sentenced by a Criminal Court, following a report by Nampa’s volunteer organisation, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR). This marks the second judgment found against Nampa under Section 112 of the Thai Penal Code, which penalizes anyone who defames, insults or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent, or the Regent. Sentences for such a charge can range from three to 15 years imprisonment. In this case, the court found Nampa guilty of incorrectly portraying Maha Vajiralongkorn, current monarch known as King Rama X, as the misuser of the country’s assets and for spending extravagantly.
Nampa maintained his defense that his posts were solely targeting the justice system and the monarchy’s role in Thai politics, not King Rama X specifically. This conviction follows a previous one that also found Nampa guilty, sentencing him to four years for a speech he delivered at a rally.
Nampa is a well-known human rights lawyer and pro-democracy activist hailing from Thailand. Despite high-profile arrests on sedition charges and breaches of emergency law, he continued to advocate for reforms to the monarchy. Coming from humble beginnings as the son of rice-farmers, Nampa started his human rights work in 2006 and developed a reputation for defending political prisoners and lese-majeste suspects. He continues his work of aiding those accused after the 2014 military coup.
A brief look into the Thai monarchy provides understanding of the king’s rank in their society. Despite the end of absolute monarchy in 1932, the monarchy maintains its role as a unifying force in Thailand, serving as a bastion of stability and reinforcement of Thai identity. King Rama X exercises his prerogatives as outlined by the constitution, with the emphatic understanding that the monarchy holds no political bias and all actions are in line with the constitution’s letter and spirit.