Bangkok, March 7. A Thai court on Tuesday sentenced a man accused of parodying King Vajiralongkorn in a calendar that featured a duck with veiled references to the monarch to two years in prison for lèse-majesté, a group of Thai lawyers reported.
The duck, one of the symbols of the protests which since 2020 have called for a reform of the laws protecting the Royal House, wears a red headband -similar to that worn by members of the Royal House- filled with medals and the number 10, which the court interpreted as a mockery of the Thai king, also known as Rama X.
This design also features the month of October, when the current monarch ascended the throne following the death on October 13, 2016, of King Bhumibol, father of the current ruler.
Throughout the calendar, other references are made to the scandals committed by the monarch, who was passionate about flying planes and who named a royal bride three months after marrying for the fourth time.
The court initially sentenced the defendant to three years in prison, but reduced the sentence to two without the possibility of parole, finding that he had cooperated during the process, according to the group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR).
The convict, identified only as a 26-year-old man, designed the calendar for 2021 – where different duck designs appear each month – and sold it via social media.
The lese majesty law, enshrined in article 112 of the Penal Code, provides for penalties ranging from 3 to 15 years in prison for those who defame, insult or threaten the king, queen or crown prince, one of the laws the most draconian on the planet. on this ground.
TLHR denounces the resurgence of lèse-majesté cases in Thailand since November 2020, when the government resumed the application of said regulations to stifle the pro-democracy movement led by university students in the courts.
This movement led massive protests in mid-2020 and succeeded in opening a public debate on the role of the all-powerful Thai monarchy in today’s society, which has lost supporters among Thais in recent years.
At least 228 people, including minors, have been charged with lèse-majesté since November 2020, according to TLHR, while another 1,890 – including 284 minors – have been charged with crimes related to the protests or their political expressions. EFE
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