Thai court adds prison term for activist lawyer convicted of royal insult

A Bangkok court has imposed an additional sentence of two years and eight months in prison on activist lawyer Arnon Nampa for insulting Thailand’s monarchy during a 2020 protest, increasing his cumulative sentence to more than 30 years.

The ruling was delivered on 20 February 2026 by the Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek Road in the Thai capital.

Prosecutors had brought charges under the country’s lèse-majesté law, which criminalises criticism of the king, queen, heir apparent, or regent and carries penalties of up to 15 years in jail per offence.

Mr Nampa, 41, was among seven defendants accused in connection with a rally held in November 2020 on Phahonyothin Road and outside the 11th Infantry Regiment in Bangkok’s Bang Khen district.

Prosecutors alleged the group organised the gathering without notifying officials as required by law, drew around 2,000 participants and continued despite orders to disperse. They further alleged that speeches made during the protest caused listeners to misunderstand the king and the monarchy, reported The Nation.

Apart from Mr Nampa, the defendants included Parit Chiwarak, Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, Pimsiri Petchnamrob, Natthida Meewangpla, Promsorn Weerathamjaree, and Intira Charoenpura, an actress.

All of them denied the charges.

The indictment also included allegations of offences against state security and public order, and alleged breaches of the Public Assembly Act, the Road Traffic Act, the Sound Amplifier Advertising Control Act, the Cleanliness and Orderliness Act, the Communicable Diseases Act and the Emergency Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situations.

In Mr Nampa’s case, the court ordered the new sentence to run consecutively to penalties previously imposed in four separate criminal court cases.

For Mr Prueksakasemsuk, the sentence was ordered to run consecutively to a prior term in another case before the same court. Other charges and requests were dismissed.

The court acquitted Ms Charoenpura, ruling that the prosecution’s evidence was insufficient to establish that she had been a principal offender or supporter in organising the rally or delivering speeches.

Mr Nampa has been in custody since September 2023 on multiple convictions linked to speeches at political rallies and social media posts made between 2020 and 2021.

A spokesperson for Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said his total sentence now amounted to 31 years and nine months, with three further royal defamation cases still pending, reported AFP.

Friday’s ruling was the 11th of 14 lèse-majesté cases brought against him.

Thailand’s lèse-majesté law has been widely criticised by international human rights organisations as severe.

According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, at least 289 people have been charged under the provision since 2020, the French wire agency reported. Earlier this month, a court extended the sentence of a man jailed for social media posts deemed insulting to the king to 50 years.

In 2024, a clothing vendor was also sentenced to 50 years’ imprisonment over Facebook posts found to have insulted the monarchy.