In a significant legal development, a court in Thailand delivered a verdict on Wednesday, convicting and sentencing recently elected lawmaker Rukchanok Srinork to six years in prison. The charges against her were based on alleged defamation of the monarchy, invoking a contentious law designed to safeguard the royal institution.
Rukchanok Srinork appeared at the court building in the capital, Bangkok, on the same day her fellow lawmakers convened in Parliament. Despite her request to postpone the hearing due to the parliamentary session, the court proceeded with the case. Speaking to reporters alongside her party leader, who provided support during the proceedings, she expressed her attempt to delay the hearing, saying, “I submitted a request to postpone (the hearing) because today the new parliament convenes for its first session, but the court refused. So I came to hear the verdict.”
The charges stemmed from two social media posts that Rukchanok Srinork allegedly shared on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, two years ago. The verdict underscores the ongoing application of laws aimed at protecting the monarchy in Thailand, where discussions related to the royal institution are subject to strict legal scrutiny and penalties.
