Tiwagorn’s 7th bail request denied

Now 49, Tiwagorn Withiton is perhaps best remembered for his t-shirt with the “I lost faith in the monarchy” slogan.

When he initially wore the shirt it caused a stir as Tiwagorn said he was not defaming or criticizing the monarchy, but declaring his own loss of faith.

This act initially confused the state’s monarchy police who tried to convince him to give up the t-shirt and not advertise his lost faith. When he refused, his mother was told lies by officials, and he was arrested, dragged from his home, and forcibly admitted to Khon Kaen’s Rajanagarindra Psychiatric Hospital. Officials seemed to believe that anyone who had no faith in the monarchy was mad.

Tiwagorn was charged on 4 March 2021 under Article 112, Article 116, and the Computer Crimes Act because of Facebook posts he made on 11 and 18 February 2021. On 29 September 2022, the Khon Kaen Provincial Court dropped the 112 case, ruling that prosecution evidence showed that the phrase did not necessarily evidence malice to the king.

A few days later, Tiwagorn was convicted of sedition by a court in Lampang for inviting netizens to cast votes in a campaign asking whether the Thai people wanted to have a referendum about having a monarch as head of the state. He was sentenced to 3 years in jail. He was later released on parole, apparently to appeal.

On 14 August 2024, the Appeals Court overturned the 112 dismissal, “ruling that he intended to defame the King by posting a picture of himself wearing the shirt and inviting people to buy the shirt, and because people were leaving comments on his posts which were defamatory against the King.” It found Tiwagorn guilty under Article 112 and violation of violating the Computer Crimes Act and sentenced him to 9 years, reduced to 6 years.

On June 4, 2025, lawyers filed a bail request for him while he appeals his conviction to the Supreme Court. They offered 600,000 baht in cash as bail, along with conditions that he not leave the country and agreed to report to the court on a regular basis. Tiwagorn confirmed he had no intention of fleeing, and that he wanted to fight the case to the fullest extent in the Supreme Court. However, on the very day that the Khon Kaen Provincial Court sent the petition to the Supreme Court, it ruled against bail, “considering that there was no reason to change the original order, causing Tiwakorn to continue to be detained at the Khon Kaen Special Correctional Institution.”

This is the seventh time that bail has been requested during the appeal. Obviously, not having “faith” remains a dangerous crime. At the same time, we know that the Royal Household Bureau has been involved in this case, suggesting the court is seeking to keep the palace content.