Under article 112 of the Thailand’s criminal code, criticism of the monarchy is punishable with between three and 15 years in prison. It’s one of the most severe laws of its kind – known as lese majesty – anywhere in the world.
People in Thailand have been prosecuted for political speeches, wearing clothes deemed to be an impersonation of the royals, or for being involved in the sale of satirical cartoons. If a person is hit with multiple cases, they can face decades in prison: in January 2024 a man was sentenced to 50 years over his comments about the royal family.
Over recent years, criticism of the law has become more prominent. This is largely due to mass protests that erupted in 2020, in which young people demanded democratic reforms, and broke a deeply engrained taboo by calling for changes to the monarchy’s role in public life. Among their demands was a call for the lese majesty law to be scrapped.
Since then 272 people have been charged under the law.
The pro-reform Move Foward party has been the only political party to promise it would seek changes to the law – and in 2023 it won the most seats and votes in the election. However it was blocked from taking power by military-appointed senators, who are seen as part of the conservative royalist establishment. They cited the party’s policy on lese majesty as a reason for denying it power. Some accused the party of seeking to overthrow the royals, a key pillar of Thai society.
In January 2024 the constitutional court ruled Move Forward’s policy to reform lese majesty was unlawful, and in August, the court ordered the dissolution of the party.
