- Tampa zoo rushes Chompers the porcupine and others to safety as Milton nears
- Shanghai stocks pare early surge on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- New Japan PM to hold talks on ASEAN sidelines
- Record number of climbers chase 14-peak dream in Tibet
- Former South Korea clinic for US 'comfort women' to be demolished
- China holds off on fresh stimulus but 'confident' will hit growth target
- Chiefs battle past Saints to stay unbeaten
- Deal on climate aid hangs in balance at UN COP29 summit
- Royals hit back against Yankees, Tigers maul Guardians
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case faces verdict in sex crimes trial
- Top economic official 'confident' China will hit 2024 growth target
- COP29 fight looms over climate funds for developing world
- Shanghai stocks soar to extend stimulus rally amid Asia-wide drop
- Australia moves to expand Antarctic marine park
- Tragedy of Madrid street sweeper highlights how heatwaves kill
- Survivors wait for aid as Trump's lies help cloud Helene response
- Fleeing Israeli bombs, Lebanon's displaced met with suspicion
- Jila Mossaed, from refugee poet to Swedish Academy
- Will Tesla's robotaxi reveal live up to hype?
- Drugs, people smuggling at heart of Mexico's raging violence
- 'Invisibility' and quantum computing tipped for physics Nobel
- Musk says he is 'all in' on Trump in US election
- Category 5 Hurricane Milton roars towards storm-battered Florida
- Carpenter bomb stuns Guardians as Tigers level series
- Harris, Trump and Biden mark Oct. 7 attacks as US election looms
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- US judge orders Google to open Android to rival app stores
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights 'sacred' multi-front war
- Nobel scientist uncovered tiny genetic switches with big potential
- Grammy-winning Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney, dies at 91
- UN biodiversity summit in Colombia aims to turn words into action
- Georgia Supreme Court reinstates six-week abortion ban
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Mexican mayor murdered days after taking office
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
RBGPF | 100% | 60.52 | $ | |
SCS | -0.15% | 12.95 | $ | |
AZN | -0.78% | 76.87 | $ | |
NGG | -1.56% | 65.48 | $ | |
RIO | -0.11% | 69.62 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.53% | 24.57 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.15% | 6.87 | $ | |
GSK | -0.49% | 38.63 | $ | |
VOD | 0.31% | 9.69 | $ | |
BTI | -0.26% | 35.2 | $ | |
BCE | -0.54% | 33.53 | $ | |
RELX | -0.54% | 46.04 | $ | |
JRI | -0.76% | 13.18 | $ | |
BCC | 1.68% | 141.27 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ | |
BP | 0.78% | 33.14 | $ |
Thai man sentenced to jail for putting sticker on king's portrait at 2020 protest
A Thai man was sentenced to two years in jail on Friday for violating the country's tough royal defamation laws by putting a sticker on a portrait of Thailand's king during 2020's huge democracy rallies.
It is the first sentencing from lese majeste charges related to the protests, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said, when thousands marched demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha and made unprecedented calls for reform to the nation's untouchable monarchy.
But the movement petered out as Covid-19 case numbers surged and authorities detained most of its leaders.
Narin, whose last name was withheld, is among some 160 activists hit with criminal charges under Thailand's tough royal defamation laws -- which carry a prison sentence of up to 15 years per charge.
The criminal court jailed him for two years for violating Section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code after he posted a 'GuKult' sticker on King Rama X's portrait outside Bangkok's Supreme Court during a rally in September 2020.
'GuKult' is a satirical and anti-establishment Facebook page.
"This could be an example of prosecuting the other 112 cases going forward," said TLHR's Kittisak Kongthong, defending the 31-year-old.
He noted the case had been "accelerated", with the court ordering "no testimonies of academics and the plaintiff."
Narin's sentence was reduced from three years to two, and he can appeal within 30 days. He was released on a 100,000 baht ($3,000) bail bond.
He is still facing at least two further lese majeste charges, according to his lawyer.
The sentencing comes after a number of prominent pro-democracy protest leaders were released on bail last month.
Parit Chiwarak, better known in Thailand by his nickname "Penguin", is facing 23 lese majeste charges but was allowed to free ahead of trial on February 24.
Days later, 37-year-old Anon Numpa, a prominent Thai human rights lawyer, was also released on bail.
F.Pedersen--AMWN