orders and announcements, and charges of usage or possession of firearms used in wartime. A lot of lèse majesté cases with civilians as defendants went to military courts where some of the judges are military personnel without legal backgrounds. Under the military court’s procedure, the court usually does not schedule the dates of trial continuously, so there is a large lapse of time between each witness examination; thus the trials take a long time. So far there has not been any lèse majesté case under military court where the defendant denied the charge. In many cases, the military courts also try the cases in secret. No observers, including the defendant’s relatives, can be present in the courtroom. Prosecutions of false claims using the lèse majesté law A new phenomenon in the use of Section 112, which has appeared since the 2014 coup, is the arrest and prosecution of those who have close connections with the institution of the monarchy on charges of making false claims about the monarchy to seek personal benefit. In November 2014, the prosecution of people charged with making false claims, fraud and lèse majesté which attracted much public attention involved a network of high-ranking police officers, led by Pol. Lt. Gen. Pongpat Chayapan, Commander of the Central Investigation Bureau, and Pol. Maj. Gen. Kowit Wongrungroj, Deputy Commander of the Central Investigation Bureau. At least 26 people have been accused of associating with this monarchy-citing network of high-ranking police, 19 of whom have already been charged with lèse majesté. Out of this number, 16 suspects have been brought to trial. In October 2015, there was another similar prosecution of false claims under the lèse majesté law. Three people were accused of making false claims about the monarchy to seek personal benefit. They were Suriyan Sutjritpolwongse, aka Mo Yong, a well-known fortune teller who was involved in organising the “Bike for Dad” event; Jirawong Wattanathewasilp, his close associate; and Pol. Maj. Prakrom Warunprapa, an inspector in the Technology Crime Suppression Division. Suriyan died in custody and Pol. Maj. Prakrom reportedly committed suicide in his cell.4 There is no clear record of the number of people arrested for “false claims” since most of the accused are related to the royal institution and are not known to the public. It is believed that there are more than 50 persons involved. Some of the suspects in the news report are relatives of the former Princess Srirasmi, Royal Consort to the Crown Prince.5 The “false claim” lèse majesté cases are far more mysterious and scary than the cases against free expression. The impact of lèse majesté charges on society The massive number of people prosecuted under Section 112 and the harsh penalties applied, coupled with the trial procedure whereby most of the accused have been denied bail and the court has ordered a secret trial, have engendered a burgeoning climate of fear. It has engulfed the whole society with the notion that the monarchy is untouchable and people are supposed to practise self-censorship. They have to be cautious when discussing any issues about the monarchy during both personal and public communication. This has gravely compromised Thai people’s knowledge and understanding about the monarchy. Case study 1: Jatupat6 Jatupat or Pai, 25, was a student at the faculty of law at Khon Kaen University. He became a social activist and was a member of the Daodin group. He also participated in many activities in northeast Thailand together with people who were affected by economic development projects. Jatupat and the Daodin group organised many anti-NCPO activities. On 2 December 2016 around 5:07 a.m., the Facebook account under the name “Pai Jatupat” shared a BBC Thailand article with a biography of the new King of Thailand. In the same Facebook post, Pai also copied part of the article. Lt. Col. Phitakpol Chusri, the acting head of the Civilian Affairs Division of Military Circle 23, saw Pai’s post and filed a complaint with the police. On 3 December 2016, the police arrested Jatupat under a lèse majesté charge. Jatupat was detained at a police station for one night before he was released on bail on 4 December 2016. 5 4 AFP. (2015, 9 November). Thai fortune teller held under royal defamation law found dead. The Guardian. https://www. theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/09/thai-fortune-teller-moryong-held-under-royal-defamation-law-found-dead 6 Reuters. (2015, 11 March). Parents of former Thai princess jailed for insulting monarchy. The Telegraph. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ worldnews/asia/thailand/11464642/Parents-of-former-Thaiprincess-jailed-for-insulting-monarchy.html “Jatupat: shared BBC’s article”. Freedom of Expression Documentation Centre. https://freedom.ilaw.or.th/en/case/756 THAILAND / 121