A Thai court on Wednesday acquitted five anti-government protesters who were facing the death penalty on charges of attempted violence against the country’s queen during a demonstration in 2020.
The case stemmed from an event at the height of pro-democracy demonstrations in 2020, in which a motorcade carrying Queen Suthida was heckled as it drove past a group of protesters.
Protesters had called for royal reform, including an amendment to the controversial lese majeste law, which punishes each perceived royal insult with up to 15 years in prison.
The monarchy is officially above politics and constitutionally enshrined to be held in ‘revered worship’.
The five activists had been indicted under a law that punishes violence or attempted violence against the queen, heir-apparent or regent with a minimum sentence of 16 years in prison. More serious breaches of the same law can lead to life imprisonment or a death sentence.
‘I’m really glad… we’ve been fighting this and insisting on our innocence,’ activist Bunkueanun ‘Francis’ Paothong, 23, told Reuters by phone after the verdict.
Student activist Bunkueanun Paothong, right, with activist Ekachai Hongkangwan talks to reporters before leaving a criminal court in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, June 28, 2023
Queen Suthida, wife of King Maha Vajiralongkorn appears to look out in shock as her motorcade drives through a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok on October 14, 2020
Hundreds of anti-government protesters take to the streets in mass protests on on the 47th anniversary of the 1973 student uprising, in Bangkok, Thailand, October 14, 2020
Video footage of the October, 2020 incident showed authorities pushing activists away from the convoy.
‘The court saw that police did not clear the way for the royal motorcade … there was no announcement before the procession,’ Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said on Wednesday.
‘Witness testimony was different and even police in the area did not know there would be a royal motorcade (passing through),’ the group said.
The court did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hundreds of criminal cases have arisen from student-led protests in recent years, but the five protesters were the only ones charged with violating Article 110 of the Criminal Code, and were thereby facing a potential death sentence.
This Thai law prohibits an ‘act to cause harm to the liberty of the queen, the heir apparent and the regent.’ There is uncertainty whether that part of the law has been used in any previous case.
The incident followed an anti-government rally in Bangkok on October 14, 2020 – the anniversary of a popular uprising in 1973 that led to the fall of a decade-long military dictatorship.
As hundreds of protesters marched to the prime minister’s offices in Government House, a royal motorcade with a limousine carrying Queen Suthida, wife of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, and his son, Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, then 15, appeared on the same route.
Images from that day do not show any obviously threatening behaviour toward the queen’s car, though several people in the crowd hold up the pro-democracy movement’s three-finger salute.
Loud but mostly indistinct shouting can be heard from the crowd as the motorcade, bracketed by police officers, slowly wends its way through.
A royal motorcade usually has tight security, with routes closed to the public long in advance.
Student activist Bunkueanun Paothong, widely known by his nickname Francis, holds the highest profile because of his eagerness to speak about the case.
The indictment accused Francis and his fellow defendants of breaking away from the march to urge fellow protesters to block the motorcade. It also alleged they scuffled with police officers who were securing the car’s path.
Protesters hold up a banner and the three-finger salute during an anti-government rally in Bangkok, October 14, 2020
A police officer reacts to clashes between pro-democracy demonstrators and royalists during a Thai anti-government mass protest
Student activist Bunkueanun Paothong, widely known by his nickname Francis, is one of the defendants – here holding up the three-finger salute as he was marched into a police station two days after the 2020 protest
Protesters form a line around the Democracy Monument as they take part in the anti-government rally
Protesters remove potted plants from an area around the Democracy Monument in an attempt to occupy the area
The protesters marched from Democracy Monument to Government House in Bangkok
Demonstrators give a three-finger salute while riding in a car during a Thai anti-government mass protest
Francis denied knowing a royal motorcade would be in the vicinity and said he urged people to move away from the queen’s car once he saw it.
He said the charge alleged he conspired with the four others to harm the queen’s liberty, ‘but if one had seen the evidence, if one had been there on that day, they would realise that what I did there was nothing short of trying to avoid that very same outcome. I have to say it again now: I did not intend to harm her.’
Francis surrendered to police two days after the incdient later and was charged under Article 110.
Critics have alleged that the lese majeste, or royal defamation, law – commonly known as Article 112 – is often used to quash political dissent. The charge has been filed against many pro-democracy activists who, like Francis, protested against the military-backed government of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha.
Devotion to the monarchy has long been a pillar of Thai society and was considered untouchable until recent years. Sharp political schisms that began appearing two decades ago affected its reputation, and the public debate on the topic has grown louder, particularly among young people seeking change.
Acquittals are rare for those charged with offences against the monarchy, and Thai judges have a reputation for serving as a conservative bulwark protecting the royal institution, making the acquittal of the five defendants a landmark moment.
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