UN urges Thailand to amend punishments for violating lese-majeste laws
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said it was troubled by the higher rate of prosecution and disparity in sentences for the offence.
The UN said that around 24% of people who were charged, walked free between 2011-2013, according to statistics provided by Thailand. But the percentage has dropped sharply to only 4% in the last year. The UN said that people are getting lesser scope to defend themselves against the charges.
The urge from the UN came after a man was awarded a 35 years imprisonment for writing posts on Facebook against the monarch, earlier this month.
Another similar punishment was awarded to a 48 years old tour guide, Pongsak Sriboonsang.
He was imprisoned for 60 years for writing Facebook posts which criticised the monarch. Later, for pleading guilty, the sentence was halved.
The punishment was pronounced by a Bangkok court.
Image: Creative Commons/Wikipedia.
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