Thai activist jailed over calls for royal reforms
STORY: Arnon Nampa, an activist and lawyer in Thailand has been sentenced to four years in prison for royal insults.
He became famous for his open calls for reform of Thailand's powerful monarchy.
In remarks he made as he arrived at court on Tuesday (September 26), Arnon acknowledged he would likely lose his freedom.
But said he had no regrets for what was "a worthwhile personal sacrifice for the greater good."
“I think that the youth protest has created a phenomenon that has changed Thailand to the point of no return. I believe people are becoming more confident in their freedoms and equality and are ready to transform the country to be more progressive."
Arnon was a leader of a youth-led democracy movement that held protests in Bangkok in 2020.
Hundreds of thousands of people demanded the removal of royalist prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who seized power in a coup.
At one rally, Arnon gave a taboo-breaking speech and called for public debate on the role of Thailand's king.
He denies wrongdoing.
Thailand's lese-majeste law shields the palace from criticism and carries a maximum jail sentence of 15 years for each perceived insult of the monarchy.
It is a punishment widely condemned by international human rights groups as extreme.
Arnon's verdict will be a setback for groups seeking amendments to one of the world's strictest royal insults laws, known as article 112.
According to a legal aid group at least 257 people have been charged under 112 in the past three years.
Most of those cases are related to the democracy movement, which has lost momentum having once posed one of the biggest challenges to Thailand's royalist, conservative establishment.
The palace typically does not comment on the law.
相關影片推薦
1:52
義大利絕美「眾神之路」中世紀牧人小徑變身熱門景點Yahoo奇摩(國際通)40,093 次觀看・1 天前1:57
南投竹山26戶別墅地層下陷 53住戶連夜撤離民視影音11,787 次觀看・16 小時前1:59
仁武豪華別墅地下室滅頂 居民矛頭指向市府重劃工程民視影音56,334 次觀看・15 小時前2:43
只差3秒! 蘇花工程人員逃命畫面曝光 倒車逃險遭埋華視影音88,581 次觀看・21 小時前1:47
台南新營區"後鎮排水"潰堤 鹽水區淹成汪洋民視影音190,501 次觀看・21 小時前1:58
鼓山美術館豪宅區淹大水 整片"土黃泥流"損失慘民視影音123,234 次觀看・1 天前1:58
新北送高雄1146元外送單是真的! 外送員現身東森新聞影音416,645 次觀看・3 天前11:02
地震來了怎麼辦?豆腐別再涼拌了,教你新吃法,做法簡單味道足,加上杏鮑菇,香!芭樂媽的家 Qistin Wong TV72,491 次觀看・5 天前10:59
如何把剩飯變好吃?加上小黃瓜,不油炸不燉煮,出鍋孩子搶著吃,香!芭樂媽的家 Qistin Wong TV21,353 次觀看・5 天前1:51
二度訪美! 盧秀燕強調自費 綠批:僑民比市民重要?民視影音2,598 次觀看・10 小時前
熱門必看
13:07
葉全真不愛邀人作客竟是因為這點?唐老師:「好典型的處女座」!Ep.225-2唐綺陽談星室374,579 次觀看・3 週前24:06
霸氣挑戰南部小吃價格 吃到賺到!板橋10樣親民價美食Yahoo創作摩人134,413 次觀看・1 個月前23:55
吃爆三峽老街美食|九間就被擊垮了|最道地金牛角竟是這家?|阿環格格出遊去 Ft.阿環小姐 [送你營養吃]黃君聖Sunny營養師154,154 次觀看・1 個月前21:58
瀕臨破產到全球市值最強!輝達(Nvidia)是怎麼崛起的?買他們股票的都賺翻了?《 時代的巨人》EP 021|志祺七七志祺七七 X 圖文不符202,040 次觀看・1 個月前6:30
台中南屯|百年秘方汕頭火鍋Lee Yi李易42,092 次觀看・1 個月前