KHON KAEN: A Thai anti-junta activist who spent more than two years behind bars for insulting the country’s monarchy by sharing an unflattering BBC article about the king walked free on Friday on a royal pardon.

Jatupat “Pai Dao Din” Boonpatararaksa, 27, was greeted by hundreds of jubilant family and friends after leaving the Khon Kaen provincial prison.

“I’m not angry with anyone, I only love democracy and freedom,” he said in a video broadcast on Facebook, adding he would continue with his activism.

The pardon comes days after King Maha Vajiralongkorn was crowned over the weekend in Thailand’s first coronation in 69 years. The country has some of the harshest royal insult — known as lese-majeste — laws in the world and each count carries a maximum prison term of 15 years.

The law, or article 112, makes scrutiny of the wealthy and powerful royal family all but impossible inside the kingdom — including by the media who have to heavily self-censor.

Jatupat was found guilty after sharing a profile of King Maha Vajiralongkorn written by the BBC’s Thai-language service in London.

The profile contained details of 66-year-old Vajiralong­korn’s personal life that are well known inside the kingdom but rarely printed by the Thai press. It was shared more than 2,000 times but Jatupat was the only person prosecuted.

Another pro-democracy activist who shared the article fled the country after facing similar charges.

Jatupat expressed gratitude to Vajiralongkorn for the pardon. “It’s the mercy of the king and I am grateful.”

Photos show a smiling Jatupat hugging family members. He was wearing dark shorts and a yellow shirt.

The colour yellow is associated with the king’s birthday.

The activist was the first to be detained after Vajiralongkorn ascended the throne following the death of his beloved father Bhumibol Adulyadej in 2016. Lese-majeste convictions shot up under the arch-royalist junta that seized power in a 2014 coup, with dissidents targeted.

Three Thai activists facing charges of insulting the monarchy have disappeared after reportedly being arrested in Vietnam, rights groups said on Friday, months after two exiled critics of the military and monarchy turned up dead.

Thailand’s deputy prime minister, Prawit Wongsuwan, denied the three activists were in Thai custody, as has been reported by the Thai Alliance for Human Rights.

Chucheep Chiwasut, who broadcasts political commentary to Thailand from exile, and fellow activists Siam Theerawut and Kritsana Thapthai were reportedly turned over to Thai authorities by Vietnam on May 8, Human Rights Watch said in a statement.

“Vietnam’s alleged secret forced return to Thailand of three prominent activists should set off alarm bells in the international community,” Human Rights Watch Asia Director Brad Adams said.

London-based Amnesty International said Chucheep had long faced charges of lese majeste, or insulting the monarchy.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2019