BANGKOK - A prominent Thai pro-democracy activist was sentenced to two years in prison on July 31 for posting an insult below an upside-down picture of the king on social media, a human rights lawyers group said.

       Parit Chiwarak, also known as Penguin, was found guilty of infringing Thailand’s stringent royal defamation, or lese majeste, laws during youth-led pro-democracy protests in 2020 to 2021.

       He is expected to face a further 24 royal defamation charges, according to the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) group.

       The 26-year-old activist, who was not in court in Bangkok on July 31, was one of the key figures leading the demonstrations, which saw tens of thousands of people take to the streets with unprecedented calls for reform of the monarchy.

       Some of the world’s strictest lese majeste laws protect King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his close family, with each offence carrying a potential 15-year sentence.

       Critics say the government has used the legislation to silence dissent. More than 270 people have been prosecuted for lese majeste since 2020, according to TLHR.

       On May 14, rights activist Netiporn Sanae-sangkhom, also detained on royal defamation charges, died in custody while on hunger strike.

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       Netiporn had been held in pre-trial detention since January.

       She was charged over an incident that occurred during a royal motorcade protest in 2020. AFP