The Thai police have arrested a leading member of an anti-junta activist group for sharing the biography of the new King of Thailand published by the BBC Thai.
At about 8: 45 am on 3 December 2016, police officers arrested Jatuphat Boonpattaraksa, aka. Pai Daodin, while he was participating in a rally with a group of Buddhist monks in the northeastern province of Chaiyaphum.
At press time, he is currently being interrogated at Kaeng Khro District Police Station in the province.
Lt Col Phitakphon Chusri, a soldier of the 23rd Military Circle of Khon Kaen Province, accused him of violating Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the lèse majesté law, for sharing the biography of King Vajiralongkorn, Rama X, published by the BBC Thai.
The article was published on the BBC Thai webpage on 2 December 2016. At press time, it has already been shared by almost 3,000 Facebook users.
The activist told Prachatai that he will not delete the article he posted on his Facebook profile, saying that he did not write any personal comment on the post, but merely sharing it along with the last four paragraphs of the article.
He currently faces several charges for organising and participating in anti-junta activities.
