Twitter User Gets More Charges Over Royal Criticism

An illustration depicting Niranam by cartoonist Kaimaew.
An illustration depicting Niranam by cartoonist Kaimaew.

BANGKOK — Police are seeking to punish a 20-year-old man who posted a series of tweets critical of the Royal Family with multiple counts of cybercrime offense, his attorney said Wednesday.

Phavinee Chumsri of the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said police filed seven more counts of cybercrime violation against the Twitter user. The man met with police on Tuesday to hear additional charges pressed against him, but denied any wrongdoing.

The man, identified by his pseudonym “Niranam” (anonymous in Thai), was due to go on trial last week, but it was postponed after public prosecutors decided to withhold indictment against him. He was arrested in February for posting critical comments about the monarchy on his Twitter account @ssj_2475.

Niranam now stands accused of eight counts of cybercrime offenses, which bans disseminating information that threatened “national security.”

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If the court found him guilty of all the charges, he faces a maximum of 40 years in prison, Phavinee said.

Police will forward the accusations to public prosecutors, who will decide whether to indict him, she added.

Insulting the monarchy is punishable under several laws, including the Article 112 of the Criminal Codes and the Computer Crime Act.

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