The United Nations human rights office on Friday urged Thailand to amend its lese majeste law which it said had been used against at least 35 activists – one as young as 16 in recent time.
The law which carries three to 15 years in prison sentence for those found guilty has been criticized by many locally and internationally.
It stated that Thailand should stop using the law, which bans insulting the monarchy, and other serious criminal charges against protesters, saying that criminalising such acts violates freedom of expression.
The law which was temporarily suspended since 2018 was restarted after protesters broke longstanding taboos by calling for reforms to curb the powers of King Maha Vajiralongkorn during months of street demonstrations.
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According to the spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, charges had also been filed against protesters for sedition and computer crimes offences.
‘We call on the Government of Thailand to stop the repeated use of such serious criminal charges against individuals for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,’ spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a news briefing in Geneva.
The office of U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet urged Thailand to change the lese majeste law to bring it in line with the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
The Thai government did not immediately comment on the issue when contacted but only said it needed to review the rights office’s statement first.
The Youth-led protests began in July to demand the removal of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former junta leader, and for the drafting of a new constitution.
The protest later culminated into a call for reforms to the monarchy: seeking the king to be more clearly accountable under the constitution and the reversal of changes that gave him control of royal finances and some army units among other demands.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK