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Clipped from Prachatai

Prachatai reports that on 14 August 2025, political activist Supreeya Jaikaew has, on appeal by the public prosecutor, been sentenced to 5 years in prison for lese majeste and computer crimes.

The Appeal Court overturned the earlier dismissal and convicted her for placing a banner near a portrait of King Vajiralongkorn during a political protest in Chiang Rai. The banner the Appeals Court considered attacked the king said “Monarchy budget > Public relief budget”.

Only a deeply royalist court could make this determination of an offense under Article 112 for this innocuous message because it requires interpretation.

Supreeya posted a picture of the banner on the Facebook page of the local activist group Free Youth CEI.

Soon after, she was arrested without having received a summons and the police  searched her residence without a search warrant. Again, this is royalist Thailand, where loyalty trumps legal and constitutional rights.

On 28 December 2023, the Chiang Rai Provincial Court had dismissed the 112 charge “on the grounds that the message on the banner criticised the government for how it allocated the annual budget and therefore was not defamatory towards the King.”

The prosecution tried to prove that the “banner might lead to a misunderstanding that the King was using more money than was spent taking care of the public…”.

At the time, the Court also considered “that posting a picture of the banner was not a violation of the Computer Crimes Act because there is no evidence proving that the message is false.” Supreeya was found not guilty.

The public prosecutor appealed, “arguing that placing the banner near the King’s portrait constituted defamation towards the King himself and undermined his reputation. The prosecutor also asserted that the message was intended to target the King.”

The Appeals Court then overturned the initial verdict and found Supreeya guilty under Article 112 and the Computer Crimes Act.

Supreeya is filing a bail request.