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A 30-year-old Thai man is facing a record 50 years in prison for royal insult from dozens of social media posts perceived to criticise the monarchy, his lawyer said, after an appeal court on Thursday added more jail time to his initial conviction.
Mongkol “Busbas” Thirakot, an online clothing vendor from northern Chiang Rai province, was handed 22 years jail time after an appeal court found more royal insult violations, adding to a 28-year sentence handed down by a criminal court last year.
Thailand’s lèse-majesté law, one of the strictest in the world, protects the palace from criticism and carries a jail sentence of up to 15 years for each perceived violation, a punishment condemned by international human rights groups as extreme.
Mongkol was arrested in April 2021 and received a 28-year sentence last January for 14 violations of lèse-majesté.
The appeal court confirmed his prior conviction and found him guilty of 11 more violations.
Theeraphon Khoomsap, Mongkol’s lawyer, said Mongkol denies wrongdoing and will appeal his sentence to the Supreme Court.
According to legal aid group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, at least 262 people have been charged with lèse-majesté offences since 2020 when unprecedented youth-led street demonstrations erupted in which protest leaders openly criticised the monarchy.
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