36 AND COUNTING: Lèse-majesté imprisonment under Thailand’s military junta [FIDH]

Author: International Federation for Human Rights [FIDH]
Year: February 2016
Country: Thailand

The report includes the profiles of six individuals – three men and three women – who have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from five to 30 years for lèse-majesté and lèsemajesté- related violation of the Computer Crimes Act. Their stories exemplify the range of human rights violations that authorities have committed as a result of the overzealous enforcement of Article 112.

The abuse of Thailand’s draconian Article 112 of the Criminal Code (lèse-majesté) has reached alarming levels following the country’s latest military coup d’état on 22 May 2014.

Since 22 May 2014, at least 36 individuals have been sentenced to prison terms under Article 112. At the time of the military takeover, six people were behind bars for lèse majesté violations. As of 20 February 2016, there were 53 – a nearly nine-fold increase.

The report includes the profiles of six individuals – three men and three women – who have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from five to 30 years for lèse-majesté and lèsemajesté- related violation of the Computer Crimes Act. Their stories exemplify the range of human rights violations that authorities have committed as a result of the overzealous enforcement of Article 112.

LINK 36 AND COUNTING: Lèse-majesté imprisonment under Thailand’s military junta [FIDH]