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

Arnon Nampa was convicted under Thailand’s tough lèse-majesté law over a speech he made in Bangkok in 2020 at the height of the street demonstrations

The human rights lawyer said he had no regrets about giving the speech. He is one of hundreds to be charged under the law, often referred to as ‘112’

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Arnon Nampa talks to the media before entering court to hear the verdict in his royal defamation trial in Bangkok on Tuesday. He was later sentenced to four years in prison for a speech he gave in 2020. Photo: AP

Published: 3:03pm, 26 Sep 2023Updated: 3:06pm, 26 Sep 2023

An activist and lawyer made famous for his open calls for reform of Thailand’s powerful monarchy was on Tuesday sentenced to four years in prison for royal insults, a judge said, in one of the country’s 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 Thailand’s king. Arnon denies wrongdoing.

Thailand’s 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.

Pro-democracy protesters take to the streets of Bangkok in November 2020 demanding governmental reform. Photo: SOPA Images via Zuma Wire/dpa

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.

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.