THAI COURT ADDS TWO MORE YEARS OF JAIL TIME FOR RIGHTS LAWYER WHO URGED MONARCHY REFORM

Due to remarks he made at a protest in 2021, a well-known activist lawyer who was imprisoned in Thailand was sentenced on Monday to an additional two years in prison by a Thai court, according to his attorney.

According to his attorney Junjira Junpaew, Reuters, human rights attorney Arnon Nampa, 39, was sentenced to two years and twenty days in prison as well as a fine of 100 baht for royal insult, violating an emergency order, and other offences related to giving a speech at a political rally in 2021.

According to Junjira Junpaew, "Arnon denied all wrongdoing," and his legal team will appeal the sentence.

Due to two convictions for royal insult, one from a speech at a political rally in 2020 and the other from a social media post in 2021, Arnon is presently serving an eight-year jail sentence. His incarceration began in September of last year.

According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, a legal assistance organisation, Arnon will now spend 10 years and 20 days for his most recent sentence, which was ordered to run concurrently.

One of the strictest laws in the world, lese-majeste shields the monarchy from criticism and imposes a maximum 15-year prison penalty for any perceived offence to the king. This legislation applies to Thailand.

Monday's verdict is the third of 14 cases against Arnon, a lawyer-turned-protest leader of youth-led democracy movement that held protests in Bangkok in 2020, calling for reform of the monarchy.

At least 272 people have been charged with lese-majeste offences since 2020, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.

2024-04-29T08:32:18Z dg43tfdfdgfd