A couple of days ago, when posting on the prosecutor of the Provincial Court in Phon District of Khon Kaen Province charging eight people with lese majeste for burning some royal portrait arches in the local area.
At that time, we stated a 14-year-old boy who was allegedly involved in the burnings. He was sent to the Department of Juvenile Observation and Protection for detention but there was no further information on him.
Now Reuters has reported on the boy:
A 14-year-old boy, along with 8 others, have been charged with royal defamation, a police officer in Khon Kaen province told Reuters on Friday.
The nine suspects were allegedly involved in setting fire to portraits of Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his father, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej in several spots around the northeastern province of Khon Kaen in May.
If the juvenile court in Khon Kaen province accepts the case, it could become the first royal defamation case in the country for a person under the age of 15.
The military dictatorship seems determined to use lese majeste even against children.
Political Prisoners in Thailand 
[…] what about the political repression that has juveniles charged with lese majeste. There is the old man potentially charged with lese majeste for comments about legendary events. […]
[…] what about the political repression that has juveniles charged with lese majeste. There is the old man potentially charged with lese majeste for comments about legendary events. […]
[…] Readers may recall that back in 2017 the king got shot in the bum or was shot at and missed while cycling in Germany. This was by so local kids using BB guns or something similar. In the end, the king didn’t press any charges, although it is not clear that the kids were old enough to be charged. In Thailand, of course, it would have been very different. The lese majeste law has been used against a juvenile. […]
[…] Readers may recall that back in 2017 the king got shot in the bum or was shot at and missed while cycling in Germany. This was by so local kids using BB guns or something similar. In the end, the king didn’t press any charges, although it is not clear that the kids were old enough to be charged. In Thailand, of course, it would have been very different. The lese majeste law has been used against a juvenile. […]
[…] have previously fronted other courts on lese majeste charges. For a case in Khon Kaen, see here, here, here and […]