The Criminal Court sentenced a political activist to two years in prison today, after finding her guilty of lèse majesté for her role in conducting an opinion survey on the scope of the monarch’s authority.
The convict, Nutthanit Duangmusit and two members of the ‘Thalu Wang’ anti-monarchy group, Supitcha Chailom and Netiporn Sanesangkhom, were accused of conducting a poll on April 18th, 2022, to gauge public opinion about whether they agree with the King being allowed to exercise his authority as he wishes.
During the trial, the three defendants denied the charges and were granted bail. Supitcha escaped and is still unaccounted for, while Netiporn died. The charge against Netiporn was dropped, while the trial against Supitcha was continued, pending her arrest. Only Nutthanit showed up to hear the court’s verdict today.
In convicting Nutthanit of lèse majesté, the court dismissed her claim that she was not the administrator of ‘Thalu Wang’ web page, on which a message was posted questioning the authority of the monarch. It ruled that she was complicit in the opinion survey.
The court initially sentenced her to three years, but commuted the sentence to two years on account of her social work, volunteering to teach blind students.
Krisadang Nutcharat, of ‘Thai Lawyers for Human Rights’ said he has posted a 100,000 baht bond for Nutthanit, pending the outcome of an appeal.
