Bangkok (AsiaNews / Agencies) - This morning, a military court sentenced a Thai man of 67 to 18 months in prison for writing defamatory remarks against the monarchy on the walls of a bathroom in a shopping center in the capital.
The Bangkok Military Court found Opas Charnsooksai guilty of treason, which punishes those who defame, insult or threaten the institution of the monarchy. The story dates back to October last year and only now arrived at a prison sentence; in recent months, the courts repeatedly rejected the man's request for release on bail.
In recent years, Thailand has seen a series of political and social upheavals, pitting two opposing camps: the financial and government elite in Bangkok, linked to the military, embodied by the Yellow Shirts, against the Shinawatra clan, popular in the rural areas of the north-east regions of the country, backed by the Red Shirts.
In such a deeply divided country, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 87, has been on the throne for 60 years, a record that has made him the longest serving monarch in the world. Thailand has some of the toughest Lèse-majesté laws in the world to protect the king's persona. Sentences can reach up to 15 years in prison. Critics note though that the military junta has used such laws in recent months to suppress dissent and rule the country with an iron fist.
At first the military
court judges had proposed three years in prison to man, for the insulting graffiti
at the mall. The man, however, pleaded guilty and was able to qualify for a reduced
sentence, although the sentence has been upheld because "the offense
involved the beloved institution of the monarchy."
Analysts and experts point out that the last
decade of political turmoil in the country is deeply connected to increasing
concern among the elite on the fate of the monarchy, following the death of the
elderly (and sick) King Bhumibol. He spent several months in hospitals in the
capital and only in recent days has made a (very rare) public appearance after
a lengthy absence.