Lèse majesté in Thailand

A government officer pays respect to the portrait of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand

Lèse majesté is the crime of violating majesty, an offence against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. It has been prohibited by the law of Thailand since 1908. In 1932, when Thailand's monarchy ceased to be absolute and a constitution was adopted, it too included language prohibiting lèse-majesté. All versions of the Thai Constitution since 1932 contain the clause, "The king shall be enthroned in a position of revered worship and shall not be violated. No person shall expose the king to any sort of accusation or action." The Thai Criminal Code elaborates in section 112: "Whoever defames, insults or threatens the king, queen, heir-apparent, or regent shall be punished with imprisonment of three to fifteen years." Missing from the code, however, is a definition of what actions constitute "defamation" or "insult".

As mentioned in the criminal code, lèse majesté only applies to criticism of the king, queen, crown prince, and regent. Tanin Kraivixien, a former Supreme Court justice, reinterpreted this as a blanket ban against criticism of royal development projects, the royal institution, the Chakri Dynasty, or any Thai king. The reinterpretation has stood to the present day. In addition, the Supreme Court of Justice of Thailand decided in 2013 that the term "king" in section 112 of the Criminal Code also applies to previous or deceased monarchs, not only the reigning one. This decision has led to many lèse majesté cases based upon past monarchs. One of the notable cases is the 2014 charge against prominent scholar Sulak Sivaraksa who, during an academic forum, raised doubts about an elephant battle between Ayutthayan King Naresuan and Burmese Prince Mingyi Swa that took place 400 years ago. Another notable case is that against Michael Wright, a deceased British historian who doubted the genuineness of the Ramkhamhaeng Inscription, allegedly created by King Ramkhamhaeng about 800 years ago.

From 1990 to 2005, the Thai court system only saw four or five lèse majesté cases a year. From January 2006 to May 2011, however, more than 400 cases came to trial, an estimated 1,500 percent increase. For example, there were 478 cases in 2010 alone. Observers attribute the increase to King Bhumibol's public invitation of criticism in 2005, increased polarization following the 2006 military coup and speculation over Bhumibol's declining health. Jail terms for Thai citizens committing lèse majesté are usually harsher than for foreigners.

Cases are often filed by state authorities or by individuals, and anyone may take action against anyone else. In one notable incident during the 2005–2006 political crisis, deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his political opponent Sondhi Limthongkul filed charges of lèse majesté against each other. Thaksin's alleged lèse majesté was one of the stated reasons for the Thai military's 2006 coup.

Since the military coup of May 2014, the junta has brought 53 lèse majesté cases, 40 for comments posted or shared online. Military courts have routinely imposed harsher sentences than did the civilian courts. In August 2015, the Bangkok Military Court sentenced Pongsak Sriboonpeng to 60 years in prison for his six alleged lèse majesté Facebook postings (later reduced to 30 years when he pleaded guilty). It was Thailand’s longest recorded sentence for lèse majesté. Also in 2015, a Bangkok man was arrested and accused of having made a "sarcastic" comment online about the King's dog, Tongdaeng ("Copper"), whom the King rescued from an animal medical facility in 1998 and wrote a bestselling 2002 book about.

A 14 May 2016 Bangkok Post editorial said that the justice minister remarked on "concerns raised by United Nations Security Council member countries during the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva on" 11 May 2016; the justice minister said "that foreign countries would not understand why Thailand needs the lese majeste law because they are not "civilised" nations with cultural refinement like ours".

Scope of the law

The structure of offences of insult or defamation in the current Thai Criminal Code is divided into three groups and six levels:

• The first group is insult or defamation against ordinary persons. Insult against another person in his or her presence under Section 393 has a penalty of imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month or a fine not exceeding 1,000 baht, or both. The penalty for defamation under Sections 326 to 333 is imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or a fine not exceeding 20,000 baht, or both. The penalty for defamation by means of publication is imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to 200,000 baht.
• The second group is insult or defamation against state officials or the court. Insulting officials (Section 136) carries a penalty of imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of up to 20,000 baht, or both. Insulting the court or the judge (Section 198) presiding over a case carries a penalty of imprisonment for four to seven years, or a fine of 2,000 to 14,000 baht, or both.
• The third group is insult against the head of state of foreign countries or lèse-majesté. Insulting or threatening the king, queen, consort, heir-apparent, or the head of state of foreign countries (Section 133), which is an offence against friendly relations with foreign states, is punishable by one to seven years imprisonment or a fine of 2,000-140,000 baht, or both. The penalty for defaming, insulting or threatening the Thai monarch, the queen, heir-apparent, or regent (Section 112) is imprisonment for three to 15 years. Insulting or defaming a representative of a foreign state accredited to the royal court has the penalty of imprisonment for a term of six months to 15 years or a fine of 1,000-10,000 baht, or both.

It is clear from the above that the Thai Criminal Code classifies offences of insult or defamation in accordance with the status of and relations among persons in line with ethical norms of Thai society.

While the original penalty for lèse-majesté was a maximum of seven years imprisonment, it was toughened to a minimum of three years and a maximum of 15 years during the dictatorship of royalist Premier Tanin Kraivixien. Also banned was criticism of any member of the royal family, the royal development projects, the royal institution, the Chakri Dynasty, or any previous Thai king. These harsher provisions have been retained to the present day.

Recently, there is controversy over whether criticism of members of Bhumibol's Privy Council also qualifies as criticism of Bhumibol. Police Special Branch Commander Lt-General Theeradech Rodpho-thong refused to file charges of lèse majesté against activists who launched a petition to oust Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda, claiming that the law only applied to members of the royal family. Two days later, he was demoted by Police Commander Seripisut Temiyavet. During the Songkran 2009 unrest, Thaksin Shinawatra accused the privy council president of masterminding the 2006 military coup. Royalists interpreted this as an attack on Bhumibol.

Calls to reform the lèse majesté laws have themselves resulted in charges of lèse majesté. Political scientist Giles Ungpakorn noted that "the lèse majesté laws are not really designed to protect the institution of the monarchy. In the past, the laws have been used to protect governments, to protect military coups. This whole [royal] image is created to bolster a conservative elite well beyond the walls of the palace."

Role in 2005-2006 political crisis

Premier Thaksin Shinawatra and royalist activist Sondhi Limthongkul both filed charges of lèse majesté against each other during the 2005–2006 political crisis. Thaksin's alleged lèse majesté was one of the stated reasons for the Thai military's 2006 coup.

King's 2005 remarks

King Bhumibol Adulyadej, also known as Rama IX, on his throne in 1950. Rama IX is currently the world's longest serving monarch

During his birthday speech in 2005, King Bhumibol Adulyadej encouraged criticism of himself: "Actually, I must also be criticised. I am not afraid of the criticism concerns what I do wrong, because then I know. Because if you say the king cannot be criticised, it means that the king is not human." He later added, "If the king can do no wrong, it is akin to looking down upon him because the king is not being treated as a human being. But the King can do wrong," in reference to those he was appealing to not to overlook his human nature. While the King indicated that he could be criticised, it should be for constructive reason and not politically motivated.

Use after 2006 coup

Opposition of lèse majesté often claimed that the law was used to silence discussion about Bhumibol's role in politics, particularly after the 2006 coup. After the 2006 coup, there were an increasing number of claims without real evidence that Bhumibol or his advisers knew of the 2006 coup before it occurred. However, the king is regarded as being above politics.

Dozens of radio stations have been shut down due to alleged insults.

Academics have been investigated, imprisoned, and forced into exile for lèse majesté. In 2007 Boonsong Chaisingkananon of Silpakorn University was the subject of a police investigation for asking students in an exam if the institution of the monarchy was necessary for Thai society and if it could be reformed to be consistent with the democratic system. The university handed in students' answer sheets and the professor's marks. Prominent historian Somsak Jeamteerasakul was arrested for proposing an eight-point plan on the reform of the monarchy. Somsak claimed that he never proposed to overthrow the monarchy and never insulted Bhumibol personally. Professor Giles Ji Ungpakorn went into exile after his book, A Coup for the Rich, questioned Bhumibol's role in the 2006 coup.

Amnesty International considers anyone jailed for insulting Bhumibol to be a political prisoner.

Internet blocking measures

Of particular concern to Thailand relating to the Internet are (1) malicious comments made against the institution of the monarchy and the royal families, who are by law not in a position to defend themselves, (2) improper content and language aimed at inciting hatred and undermining national security for political or other reasons, and (3) pornographic content, in particular child pornography.

The government, through the Office of Prevention and Suppression of Information Technology Crimes, maintains a "war room" where about a dozen computer specialists monitor the content of the Internet for pages which disparage the monarchy or pose a threat to national security. A web crawler is used to search widely. When an offending image or language is found the office obtains a court order blocking the site. On 28 October 2008, The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) announced plans to spend about 100–500 million baht to build a gateway to block websites with contents defaming the royal institution.

In 2008, "more than 4,800 webpages ha[d] been blocked...because they contain[ed] content deemed insulting to Thailand's royal family". As of December 2010, nearly 60,000 websites have been banned for alleged insults against Bhumibol. As of 2011, 70,000 pages had been blocked over a four-year period.

On 4 April 2007, the Thai government blocked Thai access to YouTube as a result of a video clip which it deemed insulting to the king. Various leaders of the military junta claimed that the clip was an attempt to undermine the monarchy, attack Thailand as a country, and threaten national security.

The website of Same Sky Books, publishers of Same Sky magazine, was shut down by the military government after comments on its bulletin board questioned claims made by the Thai media that the entire country was in mourning over the death of Princess Galyani Vadhana.

Chiranuch Premchaiporn, webmaster of news website Prachatai, was jailed without bail for nearly a year for not removing an allegedly insulting comment from an article fast enough. Although the comments did not directly mention Bhumibol or members of his family, the court found that Chiranuch displayed insulting intent. Arrested in September 2010, she could face up to 50 years imprisonment if found guilty.

Insults to Bhumibol's image

Acts deemed insulting to Bhumibol's image are also criminal offences under lèse majesté in Thailand. This includes placing photographs of anybody above photographs of the king on websites and not standing while the royal anthem is played at cinemas.

In 2007 Oliver Jufer, a Swiss man, was sentenced to 10 years in jail for daubing black paint on portraits of Bhumibol while drunk in Chiang Mai. The Thai press was requested not to publish any information about the case. "This is a delicate issue and we don't want the public to know much about it", noted chief prosecutor Manoon Moongpanchon. The man originally pleaded innocent, but eventually pleaded guilty to five acts of lèse majesté. Foreign reporters were barred from the hearing. Saprang Kalayanamitr publicly suspected that Jufer was hired to perform the vandalism and ordered a military investigation. Jufer was pardoned by the king on April 12, 2007 and deported, less than a month after his conviction.

Suwicha Thakor was arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison, later commuted to 10, for posting a picture on an Internet web board that was deemed insulting to Bhumibol, violating section 112 of the Criminal Code and violating the Computer Crime Act (CCA) of 2007. The CCA was passed by the military junta following the 2006 coup; Suwicha's conviction was the first time that it had been successfully used to prosecute lèse majesté.

Cases

• In 1984 Sulak Sivaraksa and other social activists were charged with the crime, because they allegedly criticized the king; Sulak was eventually acquitted.
• In 2005 Department of Special Investigation (DSI) issued arrest warrants for two Swedish citizens, Abdulrosa Jehngoh and Chipley Putra Jehngoh, claiming that their Manusaya.com website contained content insulting to Bhumibol.
• March 2007, Lech Tomasz Kisielwicz, a French national of Polish descent, refused to switch off a reading light on a Thai Airways flight he shared with two Thai princesses; he was jailed under lèse majesté for two weeks after his flight landed in Bangkok.
• March 2008. Colonel Watanasak Mungkijakarndee of Bang Mod police station filed a case against Jakrapob Penkair, a politician and spokesman for former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, for public statements threatening violence and national security made on the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT) stage on 29 August 2007.
• May 2008. BBC Southeast Asia correspondent and FCCT vice-president Jonathan Head was accused of lèse majesté three times by Col. Watanasak. Col. Watanasak filed new charges and evidence highlighting a conspiracy connecting Thaksin Shinawatra, Jakrapob Penkair, and Jonathan Head to Veera Musikapong at the FCCT. Jonathan Head, the head of the Bangkok bureau of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was accused of lèse majesté on several occasions. Contrary to rumour, he was not deported, but left Thailand at the end of his 3-year assignment for the BBC. Among his alleged insults was authoring articles that referred to alleged support for the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) by members of the royal family, writing that Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn might find it difficult to "fill his father's shoes", and allowing a picture of a politician to be placed above a picture of King Bhumibol on a BBC web page.
• September 2008. Harry Nicolaides from Melbourne, Australia, was arrested upon arriving at Bangkok's international airport and charged with lèse majesté, for an offending passage in his self-published book Verisimilitude. The book, which sold a mere 7 copies, mentioned the "romantic entanglements and intrigues" of royalty. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to three years in jail but then pardoned by the king after spending a month in jail, released, and deported.
• April 2009. Daranee "Da Torpedo" Chanchoengsilpakul was sentenced to 18 years in prison without suspension for "intending to insult" Bhumibol and Sirikit at a political protest. She did not actually mention the monarchs in her speech (she criticized, among other things, the "ruling class"), however, the court ruled that the prosecution "brought evidence that makes it possible to interpret that the defendant meant the King and Queen Sirikit."
• April 2009. Thossaporn Ruethaiprasertsung was arrested and charged with lèse majesté for making photocopies of leaflets with contents allegedly against the monarchy and the privy council.
• April 2010. Thai businessman Wipas Raksakulthai was arrested following a post to his Facebook account allegedly insulting Bhumibol. The arrest was reportedly the first lèse majesté charge against a Thai Facebook user. In response, Amnesty International named Wipas Thailand's first prisoner of conscience in nearly three decades.
• May 2011. Joe Gordon, an American citizen born in Thailand as Lerpong Wichaikhammat, had lived in the United States for 30 years before returning to his homeland where he was arrested on charges of insulting Thailand's monarchy — in part by posting a link on his blog to a banned book about the ailing king. Gordon is also reportedly suspected of translating, from English into Thai, portions of The King Never Smiles, an unauthorized biography of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and posting them online, along with articles he wrote that allegedly defame the royal family. "I want President Obama and Hillary Clinton to intervene on on my behalf," he is quoted as saying. After being denied bail eight times, a shackled–and–handcuffed Gordon said in court on 10 October, "I’m not fighting in the case. I’m pleading guilty, sirs." On 8 December 2011 a court in Thailand sentenced Joe Gordon to two and a half years in prison (halved from five years due to pleading guilty) for defaming the country's royal family by translating excerpts of a locally banned biography of the king and posting them online. The 10 October AP report on Joe Gordon's plea adds that "Yingluck's government has been just as aggressive in pursuing the cases as its predecessors." On July 10, 2012, Gordon received a pardon from the king and was released from jail.
• September 2011. Computer programmer Surapak Puchaieseng was arrested, detained, and had his computer confiscated after being accused of insulting the Thai royal family on Facebook. His arrest marked the first lèse majesté case since prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra was elected.
• March 2012. Akachai Hongkangwan was arrested for selling VCDs containing a segment of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Foreign Correspondent series. Australian foreign correspondent Eric Campbell and ABC's entire Bangkok bureau had been banned from entering Thailand after they aired an investigation of Bhumibol's role in the military's violent 2010 crackdown on protesters. The report was broadcast only in Australia.
• May 2012. "Uncle SMS" (real name Ampon Tangnoppakul — Thai: อำพล ตั้งนพกุล — known familiarly as "Ah Kong" "อากง") died in a prison hospital at the age of 61 while serving a 20–year prison sentence. He had been denied bail on 8 occasions.
• January 2013. Yoswarit Chuklom, age 54 and currently an advisor to a cabinet minister, was sentenced to two years in prison for a speech judged to have insulted the country's monarchy. Yoswarit requested bail and intends to appeal.
• January 2013. Somyot Prueksakasemsuk was sentenced to 10 years in prison, convicted of publishing two articles under a pseudonym that made negative references to the crown in his now-defunct anti-establishment magazine, Voice of Taksin, which was launched in 2009 to compile political news and anti-establishment articles from writers and contributors.
• During the government of Abhisit Vejjajiva, numerous people were charged with insulting Bhumibol using body language.
• September 2013. A Bangkok Post article said that Yuthapoom Martnok was accused of lèse majesté by his brother, and "has been jailed for a year in a Bangkok prison" while waiting for a court ruling. He was acquitted and released one day (September 13) after the article ran.
• September 2013. The Bangkok Post indicated the existence of "the testimonials of former lèse majesté convict Thanthawut Aweewarodomkul on the lack of legal assistance and cruel prison treatment".
• 16 September 2013. Aum Neko—"a Thammasat University student responsible for a high-profile campaign against school uniforms"—was reported to police (by Phornthipa Supatnukul, director of the TV programme Best of Your Life) for violating lèse majesté. CSD forwarded the complaint to Technology Crime Suppression Division.
• 1 October 2013. Sondhi Limthongkul, founder of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) was found guilty of lèse majesté for quoting remarks made by an opponent protesting the 2008 resumption of PAD protests. The appeals court in so doing reversed a lower court acquittal (Thailand has no bar to double jeopardy) handed down on 26 September 2012. The lèse majesté had resulted from Sondhi's having quoted remarks made by Daranee Chanchoengsilpakul. Daranee "Da Torpedo" was sentenced in April 2009 (see above) to 18 years in prison without suspension for "intending to insult" The King Bhumibol and The Queen Sirikit. "Da Torpedo" had not actually mentioned the monarchs, but had criticized, among other things, the "ruling class". The court in 2009 had held that the prosecution had "brought evidence that makes it possible to interpret that the defendant meant the King and Queen Sirikit." The 2013 ruling reversing Sondhi's 2012 acquittal upheld prosecution for whatever words Sondhi had quoted, but for much less than "18 years in prison without suspension." Sondhi was sentenced to two years imprisonment for defaming the monarchy, then released after posting 500,000 baht ($15,935) in bail.
• 3 October 2013. 70-year-old Surachai Danwattananusorn, an ally of dissident and fugitive Jakrapob Penkair, was pardoned by the king after having been sentenced the previous year to ​7 ¹⁄₂ years in prison for making speeches judged to have insulted the monarchy three times in 2010. Earlier the same week, a woman was sentenced to five years for defaming the monarch in an unrelated case.
• November 2013. The Supreme Court of Justice decided that the term "king" in section 112 of the Criminal Code also applies to the past or deceased monarchs, not only the reigning monarch.
• 2014. A bail petition was rejected for activist Pornthip "Golf Prakai Fai" Munkong, 23, and Khon Kaen University student Patiwat Saraiyaem, for "their parts in a political play" in 2013, according to a Bangkok Post article.
• 2014. "Thailand asked Cambodia to repatriate Ekkapob Luara, alias Tang Achiva, who is wanted for lèse majesté, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said", according to the "Bangkok Post".
• 4 November 2014. The Criminal Court of Thailand sentenced to five years imprisonment a university student whose Facebook post was considered by the court to be in contempt of the monarchy. The court said the student's act was an "extremely serious threat" and his sentence could not be suspended.
• 10 December 2014. A nurse wearing black on Bhumibol Adulyadej's birthday was charged with lèse majesté.
• January 2015. Thanet Anantawong was charged with lèse majesté "inciting disorder and computer crimes. He was among a group of student activists who attempted to visit Rajabhakti Park in Hua Hin early last month to hold a protest, but were intercepted by military officers".
• 15 December 2015. Several media outlets reported lèse majesté investigation involving Thai factory worker Thanakorn Siripaiboon. Thanakorn Siripaiboon had been detained on 8 December 2015 and had been kept in an undisclosed location prompting fears of his forced disappearance. He faces multiple charges including that of insulting the king's adopted dog Tongdaeng. Thai military junta did not detail the precise insult made towards the animal. Thanakorn Siripaiboon was granted bail on 8 March 2016. Bail was set at half a million baht.
• A 3 May 2016 Bangkok Post article said that "Details of lese majeste charges last week against two of the eight administrators who ran a Facebook page making fun of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has raised concern".
• 6 May 2016. Patnaree Chankij, a mother of a prominent pro-democracy activist, was charged with lèse majesté for failing to criticize or take action on personal Facebook messages that were sent to her account by her son's friend Burin Intin. According to a statement made by her lawyer, “[Police] Officers interpreted refusal to reprimand something is equal to agreeing with it”. Patnaree is the mother of Sirawith “Ja New” Seritiwat, who founded and leads pro-democracy Resistant Citizen group and who is a critic of the military junta. On 8 May 2016 media said that Chankij was released on bail. On 13 May 2016 media said that "the US ambassador stood by what his colleagues said in Washington, reading a statement from his notes: "Let me just say for the record that the USA is troubled by the recent arrests in connection with online postings including the arrest of Patnaree Chankij, the mother of a political activist. This we believe conflicts with Thailand's commitment to freedom of expression. We believe it creates a climate of intimidation and self-censorship".
• 31 May 2016. "A red shirt-aligned singer and actor known as Tom Dundee unexpectedly confessed to lese majeste charges before the Criminal Court".

Satirical reaction

Not The Nation, an anonymous website that satirizes a Thai newspaper—The Nation—satirized the media and public response paid to the case of Thai American Joe Gordon in contrast to that paid to the drug-related case of Australian Schapelle Corby and to the pardoning of Greek-Cypriot-Australian Harry Nicolaides.

NTN later satirized plea bargaining in the "Uncle SMS" case.

In December 2013, NTN circumvented the chilling effect of LMIT on discussion of succession with a discussion of the abdication of royal dog Thong Daeng.

In July 2014, British comedian John Oliver described Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn a "buffoon" and showed the leaked video of Vajiralongkorn and his topless wife celebrating the birthday of the Prince's poodle dog, Air Chief Marshal Foo Foo, in a satirical piece about monarchy in general on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. The Thai military government described Oliver as "undermining the royal institution", to which Oliver responded by saying "It seems my Thailand vacation is going to have to be postponed very much indefinitely. If I can bring down your monarchy, you have – at best – a wobbly monarchy."

Activists against the law

• Mainueng Kor Kunatee (poet who was assassinated in 2014)

See also

• Blasphemy
• Censorship in Thailand
• Chilling effect
• Defamation
• Sacred king
• Bhumibol Adulyadej, current King of Thailand

External links

• (2014-04-22). "Monk accuses red DJs of lese majeste". Bangkok Post.