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Thai Man Gets 50 Years in Prison for Making Fun of the King on Social Media

Thai Man Faces 50 Years in Prison for Making Fun of the King on Social Media

A 30-year-old Thai man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison after making fun of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who is protected by Thailand’s lèse-majesté law, which protects the royal family and friends from criticism and is considered one of the strictest in the world.

According to the local media, online vendor Mongkol ‘Busbas’ Thirakot was arrested in 2021 for posting a series of comments insulting the King on social media. He received a 28-year prison sentence for 14 violations of the lèse-majesté law.

Thirakot paid bail and was released on bail, but then continued posting more criticism about the royal family on social media. On January 18, 2024, he received an additional 22 years to his initial conviction after the appeals court found him guilty of 11 more violations, for a total of 50 years in prison, the longest sentence in the history of Thailand’s lèse-majesté law cases.

According to Thai lawyers, 262 people have violated the lèse-majesté law since 2020.

Thai Man Faces 50 Years in Prison for Making Fun of the King on Social Media

Thai Man Faces 50 Years in Prison for Making Fun of the King on Social Media

Thailand‘s King Maha Vajiralongkorn has been a controversial figure since serving as the prince of the country, with antics ranging from making his third wife dress in a G-string to celebrate his pet poodle Fufu’s birthday to promoting the dog to the rank of air chief marshal in the Royal Thai Air Force.

Thai Man Faces 50 Years in Prison for Making Fun of the King on Social Media

Thailand also threatened to prosecute Facebook in 2017 after giving the social media platform an ultimatum to remove a video of the eccentric king in a crop top at a mall.

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