(SEAPA/IFEX) – The case of a Swiss national charged with “lèse majesté” in Thailand has thrown an international spotlight on the restrictive law that makes it a crime to insult or belittle the monarchy. Oliver Rudolf Jufer, 57, a long-time resident of the northern city of Chiang Mai, was arrested and detained after he smeared […]
(SEAPA/IFEX) – The case of a Swiss national charged with “lèse majesté” in Thailand has thrown an international spotlight on the restrictive law that makes it a crime to insult or belittle the monarchy.
Oliver Rudolf Jufer, 57, a long-time resident of the northern city of Chiang Mai, was arrested and detained after he smeared five posters of King Bhumibol Adulyadej with black paint on 5 December 2006. Millions of portraits of the revered 79-year-old king have been erected all over the country to honour his birthday.
Charged with insulting the king and defacing public property, Jufer, who has been imprisoned since his arrest, pleaded guilty to a Chiang Mai court on 12 March 2007. A verdict is expected on 29 March.
The charge of “lèse majesté” carries a prison term of between three and 15 years. Police are seeking consecutive jail terms for Jufer, which could amount to 75 years. Jufer’s lawyer Komkhit Kunyodying, who said his client was drunk at that time, said the minimum term he could receive is seven-and-a-half years.
The case has received scant coverage in local newspapers. The trial was closed to the public, and prosecutors declined to discuss details of the case. Police reportedly asked local journalists not to write about it because of sensitivities regarding portraying the king in a negative light.
While free in many respects, the Thai media refrain from commenting on the monarchy, lest they violate the vaguely defined “lèse majesté” law, which allows almost anyone to file such charges.
The law has also been misused during political turmoil. Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, deposed in a coup in September 2006, and his opponents had hurled accusations of “lèse majesté” on each other.
The prohibitive nature of the law has grown such that criticism of the law itself can be construed as disloyalty to the king.
