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Thai rights lawyer Arnon Nampa jailed for 2 more years over royal insult, fined US$4 for using loudspeaker

  • Human rights lawyer Arnon Namp is currently serving eight years in prison for two royal insult convictions
  • Criminal Court in Bangkok sentenced Arnon for two years and 20 days for speech he made at a 2021 protest

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Thai lawyer and political activist Arnon Nampa in 2023. File photo: AFP

A court in Thailand on Monday sentenced one of the kingdom’s leading democracy activists to a further two years imprisonment on royal insult charges.

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It is the latest charge levelled against prominent human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa, who now faces more than 10 years in prison.

He is currently in jail after he was handed down a four-year sentence in January over three messages posted on Facebook in 2021, adding to the four years he was already serving for a prior lèse-majesté conviction.

Critics say the government has used the strict legislation to silence dissent, prosecuting scores under a tough law that protects King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his family.

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Activist who called for Thai monarchy reforms jailed for ‘royal insults’

Activist who called for Thai monarchy reforms jailed for ‘royal insults’

The Criminal Court in Bangkok sentenced Arnon for two years and 20 days over his calls at a Harry Potter-themed rally in 2021 to amend Thailand’s royal defamation laws.

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