In a case decided by the Ratchada Criminal Court on 20 February 2026, Arnon Nampa, Somyos Pruksakasemsuk, Pimsiri Petchnamrob and Promsorn Veerathamjaree were convicted under Article 112.
According to Prachatai’s report, each was sentenced to 4 years in prison, but this was reduced to 2 years and 8 months because the court said “they gave useful testimony.”
The Court prohibited reports on proceedings in the case. Yet the courtroom was packed by supporters of the four who wanted to hear this verdict.
The Bangkok Post’s report of the verdict was odd in that it only referred to the verdict for Arnon. His additional sentence brings “his combined sentence to more than 30 years.” In fact, it is his 11th conviction of the 14 lese majeste cases he faced and faces bringing his combined sentence to “31 years and nine months.”
The Post explains that the 41 year-old Arnon “was a prominent figure during unprecedented youth-led democracy movement protests in Bangkok in 2020 that openly called for the monarchy to be reformed.”
Thai Newsroom reports that the court “found that their speeches given under the title ‘Disarming Thai Feudalism’ in front of the 11th Infantry Regiment in Bang Khen in November 2020 violated … [Article 112].”
Prachatai helpfully rehearses the details of the 29 November 2020 protest that resulted in the jail sentences:
… protesters marched from the Wat Phra Si Mahathat BTS Station in Bang Khen to the nearby 11th Infantry Regiment headquarters… Also known as the King’s Close Bodyguard, the 11th Infantry Regiment was transferred along with the 1st Infantry Regiment, another king’s guard regiment, to the direct control of King Vajiralongkorn in October 2019. Both regiments were previously under the command of the Royal Thai Army and the Ministry of Defence.
Gathering on the street in front of the headquarters, protesters took turns giving speeches. The organizers also issued a statement questioning the transfer of army units to the King’s command… The statement also said that the king’s command of army units is an interference in the civilian government’s work and in the people’s sovereign power, and called for the two regiments to be transferred back to their original chain of command…
The speeches also questioned the transfer of crown property to the king’s personal assets.
Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said that “the Court ruled that speeches given by Anon, Somyot, Pimsiri, and Promsorn damage the public’s faith in the monarchy and were defamatory because they compared the King to dictators and accused him of politically picking sides.”
Everyone – royalist and republican alike – knows that this to be true.
Meanwhile, the Court dismissed a 112 charge against Nattathida Meewangpla because her speech was about the 2010 military murders of Red Shirts and about her (dubious and probably illegal) detention by the military following the 2014 coup.
The Court also dismissed charges against actress Inthira Charoenpura, who was charged with sedition and organizing an assembly without notifying the authorities. She did not speak during the protest. A previous 112 charge against her was dismissed by the public prosecutor.
Somyot, who was previously jailed for several years for 112, Pimsiri, and Promsorn were granted bail pending appeal. Arnon remains in prison where he’s been since 26 September 2023.
Political Prisoners in Thailand 
Leave a comment