Tag: monarchy

Charges under Thailand’s strict lese-majeste law used to be rare, both for Thais and foreigners. When foreigners were charged, it made public headlines, and such was the case of a drunken Swiss man, who defaced…

Thailand’s new government cannot get enough of “soft power.” It has become such a buzzword in the Kingdom that a Chiang Mai man on X (formerly Twitter) gasped at the extent of its use, mockingly noting,…

National unity, harmony and popular legitimacy are in short supply in Thailand. The illusion of two out of the three—unity and harmony—disappeared the day King Bhumibol Adulyadej passed away five years ago this week. Popular…

When Somyot Pruksakasemsuk, the former magazine editor and current pro-democracy activist, shared on Facebook earlier this month what appeared to be a copy of an old top secret document that classified opponents of the military-backed regime,…

The number of recent lèse majesté cases in Thailand have soared to near 60, as prominent former Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and a retired former civil servant made headlines over the past week.…

In the middle of the night, the Royal Thai Police came for Sirichai “New” Nathuang, a student at Thammasat University’s Rangsit Campus. Accused of lèse majesté or defaming the Thai monarchy for spray painting political…

Thailand’s top political story of 2020 is far from over. Rising out of frustration and anger over the military-backed government’s heavy-handed response to COVID-19, the banning of the Future Forward Party, and continued authoritarian curbs…

Recently, a 16-year-old male teenager was accused of committing lèse majesté. The teenager was summoned by the Yannawa Police Station in Bangkok after the administrator of a popular Facebook page had filed a complaint with…

The reconciliation committee proposed by the government isn’t going well. Last week, the Pheu Thai Party decided not to join the reconciliation effort, claiming the structure of the committee was “too biased.” Back in early…

The Royal Thai Police have summoned the leaders of the anti-government protesters to face charges of lèse majesté, stemming from comments made that called for institutional reforms to Thailand’s monarchy. Three of the leaders include…