Thai man sentenced to 30 years for lese-majeste

Bangkok June 9 (IANS) A Thai military court on Friday sentenced a man to 30 years in prison after convicting him of 10 counts of lese-majeste a law that protects the country s royal household.

The man identified as Wichai was detained in the city of Chiang Mai in December 2015 for a series of posts on Facebook that were considered insulting to the Thai monarchy.

The court which had earlier sentenced him to 60 years in prison reduced his term to 30 after the accused confessed Yingcheep Atchanont a representative of iLaw a human rights defence group that tracks royal defamation cases told Efe news.

According to the lese-majeste law it is a criminal offence to defame insult or threaten members of the royal family that is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

After the military coup in May 2014 the number of prosecutions under the draconian law has multiplied.

On many occasions the army has sent suspects to military courts whose sentences are twice as severe as those of civil courts according to iLaw.

The UN Human Rights Committee has expressed concern over the law and urged Thailand to respect freedom of expression.

--IANS
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