National—
At 9:30 AM, on December 13th, 2023, Thai Criminal Court, Ratchadaphisek, Bangkok, ruled that Ms. Rukchanok Srinork, a Move Forward MP, was guilty of insulting the Royal institution under Section 112 and was sentenced to 6 years imprisonment without parole.
In the case between 18 July and 9 August 2021, Rukchanok, the defendant, appeared to insult and state malice towards his Royal Majesty King Rama X on social media X, formerly Twitter, said the court. The defendant posted captions about COVID-19 vaccine allocation along with a picture of His Royal Majesty the King, said the court. However, Rukchanok denied the allegation.
On December 13th, 2023, Rukchanok, Mr. Pita Limjaroenrat, a former Move Forward Party leader, and Mr. Chaithawat Tulathon, the current Move Forward Party leader, proceeded to the Criminal Court in Ratchadaphisek, Bangkok, to hear the verdict.
According to Criminal Court consideration, the plaintiff had inquiry officers and testified truthfully according to the evidence. Moreover, other evidence confirmed the fact that the defendant was the owner of the X account. The plaintiff’s evidence was reliable.
However, the defendant denied the allegation and claimed that she committed no wrongdoings. Rukchanok refused to allow officials to inspect the defendant’s phone to find out the facts regarding the allegation.
The defendant had conflicts with the evidence and the defendant’s defense was of little weight and was not reliable, claimed the court. The court therefore found that the defendant had indeed committed the offense as charged according to Section 112 of the Criminal Code, Computer Crimes Act according to Section 112.
As a result, Rukchanok was charged with 2 counts with 3 years imprisonment for each count, a total of 6 years imprisonment without parole.
She was later released on 500,000 baht bail with conditions and pledged to continue to stand up for change in Thailand.
This article originally appeared on our sister website The Pattaya News.
