National —
At 10:00 AM on July 31st, 2024, the Thai Criminal Court convened to deliver its verdict in the high-profile lèse-majesté case against Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, a prominent leader of the pro-democracy Ratsadon group.
The prosecution accused Parit of defaming the monarchy under Section 112 of the Criminal Code and violating the Computer Crimes Act.
The charges stem from Parit’s Facebook posts between July 28th and August 1st, 2021, where he allegedly posted defamatory remarks and images about the monarchy. Despite denying the charges and being granted bail, Parit failed to appear for a scheduled hearing on June 25th, 2024, prompting the court to issue a warrant for his arrest.
On July 31st, 2024, Parit again did not appear in court, leaving only his lawyer present. Consequently, the court proceeded with a verdict in absentia, considering all the testimonies and evidence presented.
The court found the prosecution’s evidence consistent and credible, dismissing Parit’s claim that someone else might have used his Facebook account. The court noted that if Parit’s assertion were true, he could have deleted the posts but failed to do so.
Additionally, the court interpreted his July 28th, 2024 social media post, encouraging people to wear black on the King’s 6th Cycle Birthday Anniversary, as a symbolic act, which the court did not accept as valid reasoning for his actions.
The court convicted Parit of defaming the monarchy under Section 112 and the Computer Crimes Act, sentencing him to three years in prison. Due to his partial cooperation, the sentence was reduced to two years without suspension. An arrest warrant was issued for Parit to serve his sentence within a 10-year statute of limitations.
Read our related articles about Section 112 of the Criminal Code:
This article originally appeared on our sister website The Pattaya News.