BANGKOK: A Thai court sentenced a man to 18 months in prison for royal defamation over a comment posted in a Facebook group discussing the monarchy, a rights group said on Friday.
Thailand´s strict lese-majeste law shields the royal family from criticism, with penalties of up to 15 years in prison for each offence -- punishments critics say are used to stifle dissent.
In the latest case, the Criminal Court sentenced a 43-year-old man to 18 months in prison over a comment he posted in the private Facebook group “Royalist Marketplace”, which has more than 2.2 million members.
The group, founded by exiled royal critic and scholar Pavin Chachavalpongpun, was created as a forum for discussing the monarchy -- an unprecedented development in Thai society.
