Thai woman MP handed six-year jail sentence for 'insult' to monarchy 

A Thai Member of Parliament was sentenced for six years in jail, before she was released on a USD 14,000 bail, under the country's harsh lese-majeste laws which punish people heavily for what is perceived as criticism of the Thai monarchy. Rukchanok "Ice" Srinork (28) has pleaded not guilty to posting tweets which were perceived to be critical of the monarchy. When she was granted bail, she was warned that she should not repeat the offence.

The Move Forward party, which Ice represents, registered victory in this year's election. The party has urged reforms of the harsh lese-majeste laws. Despite the party's victory, it could not form the government as the unelected senate used Move Forward's criticism of lese-majeste laws as an excuse to block the bid.

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Mass protests erupted against the lese-majeste laws in the year 2020. The protests had lasted several months. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, an activist group, has been quoted in media reports as saying that since 2020, about 260 charges have been filed under these laws. About 2000 people have faced prosecution for getting involved in protests.

BBC reported that earlier this week, a 26-year-old man was sent to prison after he shouted at a royal motorcade. The man has reportedly been released on bail.

Accusationof'great malice'

Rukchanok "Ice" Srinork is out on bail but she plans to appeal the sentence handed to her.

Reuters has reported that one of posts she made accused the government of using Covid vaccination to boost monarchy's image. The court has deemed this defamation. The court has accused that she showed "great malice" towards the king through a separate post.

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Before joining the politics, Rukchanok was an activist who took part in 2020 protests. The protesters had demanded that the country be made more democratic and the laws dealing with the extremely powerful royal family be reformed.

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She joined the Move Forward party and defeated candidate from the opposition Pheu Thai party to get elected to the parliament. She was widely regarded as "giant killer' for her performance in the polls.

(With inputs from agencies)