Thailand: Magazine editor sentenced to ten years for insulting the royal family should be released

The sentencing of a magazine editor to ten years in prison for publishing two articles which allegedly insulted the monarchy is a serious setback to freedom of expression in Thailand, Amnesty International said today.

At the Criminal Court today, Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, the magazine editor and labour rights activist, was found guilty under Thailand’s lèse majesté law for publishing two articles which supposedly defamed the royal family.

Somyot has been in detention since 30 April 2011, and the authorities have repeatedly turned down his requests for bail.

Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia-Pacific Director Isabelle Arradon, said:

“This is a regressive decision – Somyot has been found guilty simply for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression and should be released immediately.

“We urge the authorities to release Somyot and all other prisoners of conscience, without condition. They should also grant Somyot reparations for the time he has spent in pre-trial detention.

 “Authorities in Thailand have in recent years increasingly used legislation, including the lèse majesté law, to silence peaceful dissent and imprison prisoners of conscience. The lèse majesté law should immediately be suspended and revised so that it complies with Thailand’s international human rights obligations.”

The lèse majesté law prohibits any word or act which “defames, insults, or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent, or the Regent” and carries a possible sentence of up to 15 years’ imprisonment for each offence. It violates the right to freedom of expression as provided for in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Thailand ratified in 1996.