Arnon Nampa was sentenced to four years in prison on Tuesday under Thailand’s tough lèse-majesté law over a speech he made in Bangkok in 2020. He said he had no regrets.
An activist and lawyer made famous for his open calls for reform of Thailandâs powerful monarchy was on Tuesday sentenced to four years in prison for royal insults, a judge said, in one of the countryâs most high profile lèse-majesté cases.
Human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa, 39, is widely known for his taboo-breaking speech during pro-democracy protests in 2020 during which he called for public debate on the role of Thailandâs king. Arnon denies wrongdoing.
Thailandâs lèse-majesté law shields King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his close family from criticism and carries a maximum jail sentence of 15 years for each perceived insult of the monarchy, a punishment widely condemned by international human rights groups as extreme.
Human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa, 39, is widely known for his taboo-breaking speech during pro-democracy protests in 2020 during which he called for public debate on the role of Thailandâs king. Arnon denies wrongdoing.
Thailandâs lèse-majesté law shields King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his close family from criticism and carries a maximum jail sentence of 15 years for each perceived insult of the monarchy, a punishment widely condemned by international human rights groups as extreme.
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.
