Kanlaya’s 112 prison term confirmed

Prachatai reports that the Supreme Court has sentenced Kanlaya, a 30-year-old former private company employee in Nonthaburi, to six years in prison without suspension under Article 112 for Facebook posts attributed to her.

Kanlaya “was charged under Section 112 … and the Computer Crime Act over four Facebook posts in 2021…”.

In rendering the Supreme Court’s decision, neither Kanlaya nor her lawyer were notified meaning that on 13 February 2025, she was taken from her prison cell to the Narathiwat Provincial Court to hear the Supreme Court verdict with no lawyer.

Court officials would only say that the court “was ordered to read the verdict within three days.” The court’s decision was to uphold the lower court’s verdict, so Kamlaya was taken back to prison.

The original complaint against Kanlaya was, unsurprisingly made by ultra-royalist Phasit Chanhuaton, who claims membership of the Citizens’ Network to Protect the Monarchy. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights say Phasit has filed lese majeste “complaints against dozens of people.”

The charges related to several posts, including “a comment about a fictional Korean king and a post about protests during 2020. She also shared posts made by exiled academic Somsak Jeamteerasakul and activist Tanawat Wongchai and added comments to them.”

Kanlaya denied the charges.

Since the Appeals Court upheld the initial verdict on 20 October 2023, she has been detained at the Narathiwat Provincial Prison. She is now scheduled to be released in October 2029.

In a note to the Prachatai report, it is added that:

Phasit also filed a complaint against Udom (pseudonym), a 34-year-old man who works in an electronic component factory. He was sentenced last week to 4 years in prison for royal defamation and violation of the Computer Crimes Act. The Appeal Court ruled on 30 August 2023 to uphold the verdict. He is now detained at the Narathiwat Provincial Prison pending appeal to the Supreme Court.

In other words, as in so many other cases, Phasit’s ultra-royalism is rewarded by the royalist courts.