BANGKOK: A court in Thailand on Tuesday sentenced a former civil servant to a record prison term of 43 years and six months for breaching the country’s strict law on insulting or defaming the monarchy, lawyers said.

The Bangkok Criminal Court found the woman guilty on 29 counts of violating the country’s lese majeste law for posting audio clips to Facebook and YouTube with comments deemed critical of the monarchy, the group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said.

The sentence, which comes amid an ongoing protest movement that has seen unprecedented public criticism of the monarchy, was swiftly condemned by rights groups.

Today’s court verdict is shocking and sends a spine-chilling signal that not only criticisms of the monarchy wont be tolerated, but they will also be severely punished, said Sunai Phasuk, a senior researcher for the group Human Rights Watch.

Violating Thailand’s lese majeste law known widely as Article 112 is punishable by three to 15 years imprisonment per count. The law is controversial not only because it has been used to punish things as simple as liking a post on Facebook but also because anyone not just royals or authorities can lodge a complaint that can tie the person accused up in legal proceedings for years.

During Thailand’s last 15 years of political unrest, the law has frequently been as a political weapon as well as in personal vendettas. Actual public criticism of the monarchy, however, had until recently been extremely rare.

That changed during the past year, when young protesters calling for democratic reforms also issued calls for the reform of the monarchy, which has long been regarded as an almost sacred institution by many Thais. The protesters have said the institution is unaccountable and holds too much power in what is supposed to be a democratic constitutional monarchy.

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2021