Thai police have arrested a leading activist’s mother for failing to condemn Facebook messages that criticized the monarchy, her legal team said yesterday, in a move a rights group described as an “outrageous twist” of the kingdom’s royal insult law.
The arrest comes amid a heightened crackdown on dissent by the junta ahead of an Aug. 7 referendum on a new constitution it scripted and is determined to see pass.
Prosecutions under Thailand’s royal defamation or lese majeste law have surged since the generals seized power two years ago.
The boundaries for what counts as an insult have also expanded dramatically, with authorities making arrests over even vague references to the royal family.
However, human rights lawyers said police took a step further on Friday night by charging Patnaree Chankij, 40, for simply receiving messages that criticized the monarchy in a private Facebook chat.
“She just received the messages. She didn’t say anything in her own words about the royal family,” said Poonsuk Poonsukcharoen, one of the human rights attorneys representing Patnaree.
Police denied a request for bail, citing what they said was the seriousness of the crime, which carries up to 15 years in prison for each offense.
She is scheduled to appear before a military tribunal on May 8, the court said.
Patnaree is the mother of prominent student activist Sirawith Seritiwat, who has been at the fore of small, but persistent anti-junta demonstrations.
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