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The subpoenas issued for at least seven leaders under the royal insults law mark their first use since early 2018.
Thailand’s police have summoned the leaders of the months-long anti-government protests to face charges of insulting the monarchy and cordoning off parts of Bangkok, ahead of a planned demonstration to demand that the king relinquish control of the royal fortune.
It will be 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. Anyone found guilty faces up to 15 years in prison.
The protests that began in July against Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha have increasingly turned into demands to curb the powers of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, breaking a long-standing taboo on criticism of the monarchy.
Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak said her family had received a lese majesty summons in addition to other charges and that she was not afraid.
“The roof has broken. Nothing can contain us anymore, ”he wrote on Twitter. He told Reuters news agency: “This will expose the world to the brutality of the Thai feudal system.”
Thai human rights lawyers said Parit was among the 12 leaders of the protest, including human rights lawyer Anon Numpha, Panupong “Mike” Jaadnok and prominent student leader Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul to receive a subpoena.
Neither man was immediately available for comment.
Most of the protesters are students and young people who have adopted the three-finger salute from the film The Hunger Games as a symbol of their demands. [Narong Sangnak/EPA]
A police source, who declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media, told Reuters that seven protest leaders had been summoned and that they had until November 30 to acknowledge the charges for the comments made in the protests of September 19 and 20.
Royal fortune
The subpoenas came a day before a planned rally at the office that manages royal assets worth tens of billions of dollars to demand that the king relinquish personal control of the fortune.
But instead of marching to the Crown Property Office, where police had set up barricades and planned to deploy nearly 6,000 officers, the venue was changed late on Tuesday.
The protesters said they would instead meet at the headquarters of the Siam Commercial Bank, in which the king owns a stake of more than 23 percent.
“Let’s take back the property that should belong to the people,” said the protest group FreeYouth.
He said the change was made to avoid confrontation, even with royalists who had also planned to go to the Crown Property Office in defense of the monarchy.
Authorities stepped up security ahead of planned mass rally on royal fortune [Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters]
Police were not immediately available to comment on the change.
“We call on the authorities to ensure the safety of all protesters,” said Mu Sochua, a former Cambodian MP who is a member of the board of Parliamentarians of the Asean for Human Rights, a regional group.
“Resorting to violence or harsh measures to try to end the protests will only further strengthen the view that the current government does not represent the views of the people. We call on the Thai authorities to engage with representatives of the protesters, adopt a conciliatory rather than combative approach and listen to those calling for democratic reform. “
More than 50 people were injured last week when police used water cannons and tear gas against thousands of protesters in parliament, on the most violent day in more than four months of demonstrations.
The Royal Palace has not commented on the protests that began, although the king said during a walk earlier this month that Thailand was “a land of compromise” when asked to comment on the demonstrations.
Prayuth has rejected calls by protesters to resign, saying last week that all laws would be used against protesters who break them, raising concerns among activists that actual laws on insults are among them.
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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