Prominent Thai opposition politician Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit has been acquitted of cybercrime and royal insult charges stemming from a 2021 Facebook livestream.
The ruling by a Bangkok criminal court on Thursday clears the 47-year-old founder of a progressive political movement, who faced severe penalties under Thailand’s stringent lese-majeste laws.
Mr Juangroongruangkit, whose movement is aligned with the current opposition People’s Party, was accused of violating the country’s cyber laws and insulting the monarchy during the January 2021 broadcast. He had alleged that the government mishandled its Covid vaccine campaign and unfairly favoured Siam Bioscience, a company owned by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
He was formally indicted in 2022.
Thailand enforces one of the world’s strictest lese-majeste statutes, with convictions carrying a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.
Breaches of its computer crimes act are also punishable by up to five years in prison, highlighting the gravity of the charges he faced.
Krisadang Nutcharat, Mr Juangroongruangkit’s lawyer, confirmed that the prosecutor has a 30-day window to appeal the court’s decision. The office of the attorney general has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the verdict.
This acquittal follows a previous setback for Mr Juangroongruangkit, who was banned from politics for 10 years by the Constitutional Court in 2020.
That ruling concerned a loan he provided to the now-dissolved Future Forward Party, the predecessor to the People’s Party.
