The military prosecutor indicted two embattled anti-junta critics with the lèse majesté law for allegedly defaming the Thai monarchy in their private Facebook chat.
The staff of the of the Military Judge Advocate General's Office on Tuesday, 2 August 2016, officially indicted Harit Mahaton and Natthika Worathaiwich, youth anti-junta critics, of offences under Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the the lèse majesté law.
The two are accused of defaming the Thai monarchy in their private correspondence via Facebook chat.
Additionally, the military prosecutor also indicted them with Article 14 of the 2007 Computer Crime Act, a law against the importation of illegal information into the computer system.
After the indictment, the two, however, were released as the Military Court earlier granted them bail under 500,000 baht surety each.
If found guilty, the two could face three to fifteen years of imprisonment per offences under Article 112.
Harit and Natthika are among the eight abducted junta critics who have been charged with sedition for allegedly being involved in Facebook pages that mock Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the junta leader and Prime Minister, including a Facebook page called ‘We Love Gen Prayut’.
Unlike the other six who were granted bail earlier, however, they are also accused of lѐse majesté for sending messages deemed to have defamed the Thai Monarchy in a private Facebook chat.
According to Winyat Chatmontree, lawyer from Free Thai Legal Aid (FTLA) representing the two suspects, they will continue to fight the case through the judicial system.