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At least 30,000 will be pardoned, another 200,000 will receive a shorter jail sentence, as the country commemorates the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s birthday on Saturday.
At least 30,000 prisoners in Thailand have been pardoned, and another 200,000 will have their sentences reduced following a royal decree issued on the eve of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s birthday.
The Royal Gazette announced on Friday that the current King Maha Vajiralongkorn issued pardons and amnesties across the country to mark his father’s birth date on Saturday.
According to the Bangkok Post, journalist Sorrayuth Suthassanachinda, red-shirt protest leader Nattawut Saikuar and former Trade Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom are among those whose sentences will be shortened.
Sorrayuth was sentenced to eight years in prison earlier this year after an associate reportedly failed to disclose excess earnings from television commercials during his news show in the early 2000s.
Meanwhile, Nattawut was jailed for his political activities in support of the former prime ministers, Thaksin, and his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra.
However, Nattawut could still return to jail after his planned release before the end of the year due to other charges against him.
Boonsong, a former commerce minister, received 48 years in prison for his role in the alleged anomaly in the rice trade during Yingluck’s tenure.
According to the Post, the Department of Corrections currently has 247,557 convicts who qualify for sentence reductions out of a total of 344,161 inmates.
Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida greet royalists at the Grand Palace in Bangkok last November [File: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters]
Since he ascended to the throne in Thailand, King Maha Vajiralongkorn has faced an unprecedented challenge to his rule, with hundreds of thousands of protesters calling for reform of the monarchy and relinquishing control of the royal fortune.
Following a series of protests, also demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha, the police have summoned activist leaders to face charges of insulting the monarchy.
It was the first time such charges have been brought under the so-called “lese majesty” laws covering insults to the royal family in more than two years, a move seen as a warning to anti-government protesters.
Thailand has one of the toughest royal defamation laws in the world. It is routinely interpreted to include any criticism of the monarchy, including content posted or shared on social media.
According to section 112 of Thailand’s penal code, anyone convicted of defaming, insulting or threatening the king, queen or heir faces between three and 15 years in prison for each count.
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