The Criminal court has accepted charges filed against a human rights lawyer facing five decades of imprisonment for royal defamation and sedition.
On 25 July 2017, at the Criminal Court on Ratchadapisek Rd., Bangkok, the court accepted charges against Prawais Prapanugool, a human rights lawyer, after the prosecutor indicted him of violation of Articles 112 and 116 of the Criminal Code, the lèse majesté law and the sedition law.
According to the prosecutor, from 25 January- 23 April 2017 Prawais allegedly imported contents deemed defamatory to the Monarchy and seditious.
He is also charged with Article 14(3) of the Computer Crime Act for importing illegal information online and violation of the Council for Democratic Reform (the 2006 coup-maker) Order for obstructing to allow the police to obtain his fingerprints.
The maximum penalties for Prawais for all counts of lèse majesté and sedition add up to 171 years as he is accused of 10 counts of lèse majesté and three counts under the sedition law. Under Thailand’s Criminal Code, however, the maximum total jail term other than life imprisonment is 50 years.
Prawais was one of six people arrested by police and military officers on 29 April 2017 before being taken to the 11th Military Circle in Bangkok. He has remained in custody since.
The arrested are accused of lèse majesté and violations of the Computer Crime Act for sharing a Facebook post about the missing 1932 revolution plaque by Somsak Jeamteerasakul, an academic currently living in self-imposed exile in France.
According to the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, Prawais allegedly posted Facebook comments asserting that Thailand should become a republic.
Prawais Prapanugool