Prachatai reports that Homdaeng (pseudonym), a 57 year-old woman from Phetchabun “has been sentenced to one year and six months in prison after allegedly sharing a Facebook post calling for the monarchy to be under the constitution.”
Thai Lawyers for Human Rights say that she was charged under Article 112 and the Computer Crimes Act.
The complaint was reportedly filed by Sajja Chokeboonsongsawad, of the IT Crime Prevention and Suppression Division, in the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society.
Homdaeng was accused of sharing a post on 17 October 2020. She did not add to the post.
She acknowledged the charges on 22 January 2021 and was indicted on 27 July 2022 and was granted bail.
On 5 October 2023, Homdaeng decided to plead guilty. On 20 November 2023, the court ruled that Homdaeng was guilty under Article 112 and the Computer Crimes Act, and was sentenced to three years in prison. Due to her guilty plea, this was reduced to one year and six months, without parole.
The court believed the post calling “the monarchy to be under the constitution,” actually “contained false and offensive information about the king.” The court asserted that the “defendant should have carefully considered whether it was true or not, but she still spread the information, which showed that she did not respect the monarchy.”
Of course, “truth” in royalist courts is only what the ruling class wants the masses to believe. Much of it is hocus pocus and the rest is a pack of lies.
The court also ruled that the call for the action “could lead to dissatisfaction among the Thai people and disharmony in society, and have an impact on national security.” On this basis, “the court had no reason to suspend the sentence.”
Pending an appeal, Homdaeng’s lawyer filed a bail application with 100,000 baht as security. The court subsequently granted bail without conditions.