Thailand jails top protest leader Arnon Nampa for insulting monarchy: ‘a worthwhile personal sacrifice’

Arnon was a leader of a youth-led democracy movement that held protests in Bangkok in 2020 that drew hundreds of thousands of people demanding the removal of royalist former prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who seized power in a coup.

Arnon was found guilty over remarks about the monarchy at a speech during a 2020 rally, in the first of 14 cases against him for violating article 112 of the criminal code, as the royal insults law is known.

“We are trying to get him bail,” lawyer Krisadang Nutcharus said, adding his team would lodge an appeal and if necessary, take the case to the Supreme Court.

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Arnon, who has been on bail since early last year after several periods of detention, was not immediately taken to prison on Tuesday and remained at the court pending a bail request.

Hundreds of people have been charged under article 112, which is among the world’s strictest royal insults laws, with some violators given sentences of decades, including a 64-year-old woman jailed for 43 years. The palace typically does not comment on the law.

The verdict against Arnon will be a setback for groups seeking amendments to article 112, moves that were unthinkable only a few years ago in a country where the constitution states the king is “enthroned in a position of revered worship”.

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Why is the Thai king so important?

Why is the Thai king so important?

According to legal aid group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights at least 257 people have been charged under 112 in the past three years.

Most of those cases are related to the youth-led democracy movement, which has since lost momentum having once posed one of the biggest challenges to Thailand’s royalist, conservative establishment.

In remarks as he arrived at court, Arnon acknowledged he would likely lose his freedom and said he had no regrets for what was “a worthwhile personal sacrifice for the greater good”.

“The youth protest has created a phenomenon that has changed Thailand to the point of no return,” he said.

“I believe that the people are becoming more confident in their freedom and equality and are ready to transform the country to be more progressive.”