Man sentenced to record 50 years in prison for insulting Thai monarchy

Thailand's Court of Appeal added that Thirakot was found guilty of a further 11 offences. Photo: Thai Lawyers for Human Rights/AP

A 30-year-old man faces 50 years in prison for social media posts believed to be critical of the Thai monarchy, the longest sentence handed down under the country's stringent lese majeste law .< /p>

Mongkol Tirakot, an online clothing seller from the northern province of Chiang Rai, was already facing 28 years in prison for comments he made on Facebook three years ago.

But on Thursday an appeal was filed and the court added another 22 years to his sentence, finding him guilty of 11 more offences.

Under Thailand's lese majeste laws, often referred to as Article 112 of the Southeast Asian country's penal code , insulting the monarch carries a prison sentence of three to 15 years for each offence. Typically, different posts or comments on social media are considered separate incidents.

The law was briefly suspended when King Maha Vajiralongkorn's reign began in 2019. But when unprecedented student protests began three years ago, calling for royal reforms, Article 112 was revived.

The laws state that «no one has the right to expose the king to any accusations or actions.» Photo: RUNGROJ YONGRIT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

More than 260 activists have since been charged, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights. On Wednesday, a prominent activist and lawyer who led the protests and first called for a public debate on the monarch also had his prison sentence extended from four to eight years.

Lese majeste laws became a contentious issue in last year's election, with the progressive Move Forward party calling for changes to the legislation. In a surprise result, the youth-led group won the polls, but it has struggled to form a coalition government, partly because of this position.

Later this month, the Constitutional Court will rule on whether whether the party should be dissolved over these calls to change lese majeste laws.

The latest sentence is «the longest in the history of Article 112 cases», Thieraphon Khumsap, Mr Mongkol's lawyer, told Reuters. Details of what the defendant said have not been published.

The previous record ruling came in 2021, when retired maid Anchan Preelert was sentenced to 43 years in prison.

Ms Preelert , who was in her 60s at the time of her sentencing, uploaded audio of the harsh critic of the monarchy 26 times to YouTube and three times to Facebook in 2014 and 2015. Police later raided her home.

“I thought it was nothing,” Ms. Prilert told Bangkok media on the day she appeared in court. “There were so many people sharing and listening to this content.”