Thai police on Monday charged five key leaders of the country’s pro-democracy protest movement under the kingdom’s tough royal defamation laws, the first such use of the controversial legislation in two years.
Section 112 of the Thai penal code is one of the world’s toughest lese majeste laws, shielding the powerful King Maha Vajiralongkorn from criticism.
However, in the past few months leaders of the pro-democracy movement have called for reforms to the monarchy — including for the law’s abolition — a move that has sent shockwaves through Thai society.
Photo: AP
Human rights advocate Anon Numpa — one of the most prominent faces rallying for royal reform — and four others arrived at a Bangkok police station for questioning on Monday.
“The police charged us under section 112,” Anon told reporters after leaving the station. “We have all denied it.”
They have been charged over their role in a September rally, and if found guilty face up to 15 years in prison per charge.
They have led dozens of protests since July, the largest drawing tens of thousands supporting their demands. They are also calling for a rewrite of the military-scripted constitution and the resignation of Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former army chief who came to power in a coup in 2014.
Scores of protesters have been hit with sedition charges, while authorities have stepped up enforcement tactics in the past few weeks — deploying water cannons and tear gas against unarmed demonstrators.
Protest leader Panupong “Mike” Jadnok remained defiant on Monday, saying that the 112 charge will not deter them from their goals.
“I stand on our ideology ... we will not be bound by the dictatorship and we do not accept section 112 as a law,” he said.
The leaders were allowed to leave the police station after being questioned and charged by the police — a rarity, as most lese majeste suspects tend to be held until trial.
Prayuth had previously said the use of 112 slowed due to “the mercy” of the king.
On the Chinese microblogging platform Sina Weibo, enthusiastic slackers share their tips: Fill up a thermos with whiskey, do planks or stretches in the work pantry at regular intervals, drink liters of water to prompt lots of trips to the toilet on work time, and, once there, spend time on social media or playing games on your phone. “Not working hard is everyone’s basic right,” one commenter wrote. “With or without legal protection, everyone has the right to not work hard.” Young Chinese people are pushing back against an engrained culture of overwork, and embracing a philosophy of laziness known as “touching
‘STUNNED’: With help from an official at the US Department of Justice, Donald Trump reportedly planned to oust the acting attorney general in a bid to overturn the election Former US president Donald Trump was at his Florida resort on Saturday, beginning post-presidency life while US President Joe Biden settled into the White House, but in Washington and beyond, the chaos of the 45th president’s final days in office continued to throw out damaging aftershocks. In yet another earth-shaking report, the New York Times said that Trump plotted with an official at the US Department of Justice to fire the acting attorney general, then force Georgia Republicans to overturn his defeat in that state. Meanwhile, former acting US secretary of defense Christopher Miller made an extraordinary admission, telling Vanity Fair that
Boeing set a target of designing and certifying its jetliners to fly on 100 percent sustainable fuels by 2030, amid rising pressure on planemakers to take climate change seriously. Regulators allow a 50-50 blend of sustainable and conventional fuels, and Boeing on Friday said it would work with authorities to raise the limit. Rival Airbus is considering another tack: a futuristic lineup of hydrogen-powered aircraft that would reach the skies by 2035. The aircraft manufacturers face growing public clamor to cut emissions in the aviation industry, which added more than 1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere in 2019, according to
Mongolian Prime Minister Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh on Thursday resigned following a protest over a hospital’s treatment of a new mother who tested positive for COVID-19. Khurelsukh, whose Mongolian People’s Party holds a strong majority in the parliament known as the State Great Khural, stepped down after accusing Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga of the Democratic Party of orchestrating a political crisis. A small protest broke out in the capital, Ulan Bator, on Wednesday after TV footage appeared of a woman who had just given birth being escorted in slippers and a thin robe from the maternity ward to a special wing for COVID-19 patients
RSS