By 
Photo source: Mick Haupt, via Unsplash, August 29, 2023.
06-03-2026 | Roberta Moisuc | Asia Team Researcher, Global Human Rights Defence.
A Thai court has sentenced prominent free speech activists to 32 months in prison on February 20th, 2026, under Thailand’s lese majeste law after allegedly insulting Thailand’s monarchy in 2020.
The Bangkok Criminal Court found Anon Nampa, Pimsiri Petchnamrob, Somyot Phrueksakasemsuk, and Promsorn Veerathamjaree guilty under Article 112 of the Criminal Code for allegedly insulting the monarchy during speeches delivered during a peaceful protest held on the November 29th, 2020, in Bangkok. The four activists were sentenced to four years in prison. Their sentences were reduced to two years and eight months in prison, because the Court found the defendants’ testimonies useful.
Pimsiri Petchnamrob was also convicted after referencing a statement made by a United Nations expert in 2017, who claimed that the lese majeste law has no place in a democratic country. Pimsiri, Somyot, and Promsorn were granted temporary release on bail, with bail release amounts set between 150,000 and 200,000 baht. Anon Nampa’s bail application has been denied. He faces 14 royal defamation charges related to his speeches and online commentary. The additional two years and eight months led to his total prison sentence exceeding 31 years.
The continued use of Penal Code article 112 on lese majeste results in a major restriction on activists’ international rights and freedoms. Thailand is a State party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which protects rights to liberty, freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association. Thai authorities must ensure that activists are not subjected to arbitrary detention and must put an end to judicial harassment.
