Curtailing Free Expression, Opinion and Information Online in Southeast Asia Cases of Thiansutham, Sasiwimol and Phongsak In March 2015, Thiansutham, a businessman, was sentenced to 25 years in jail under article 112 and the CCA for five posts made on Facebook deemed insulting to the monarchy. He was given a 10-year sentence per post, which was halved as he pleaded guilty at trial. Thiansutham was arrested in December 2014 and held for questioning in an army base before charges were brought against him by the police.227 His trial was held in camera before Bangkok Military Court.228 In August 2015, Sasiwimol, a hotel worker and mother of two, was sentenced to 56 years in jail under article 112 and the CCA for seven counts of Facebook posts deemed insulting to the monarchy. She received a term of eight years for each count, and had her sentence halved as she pleaded guilty at trial. Her trial was held in camera before Chiang Mai Military Court.229 In August 2015, Phongsak Sribunpeng, a tour operator, was sentenced to 30 years in jail under article 112 and the CCA for six posts made on his Facebook account which were deemed insulting to the monarchy. Phongsak received a 10-year imprisonment term for each of the six posts in question, resulting in a 60-year sentence. This sentence was halved as he pleaded guilty at trial. Phongsak’s trial was heard in camera before a military tribunal.230 In 2017, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found the deprivation of liberty of Thiansutham, Sasiwimol and Phongsak had been “arbitrary” and had resulted in violations of their rights to free expression and fair trial.231 227 Bangkok Post, ‘Military court jails man for 25 years over lese majeste’, 1 April 2015, Available at: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/514187/military-court-jails-man-for-25-yearsover-lese-majeste 228 Bangkok Post, ‘Facebook user gets 25 years in jail’, 31 March 2015, Available at: https://www. bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/513735/facebook-user-gets-25-years-in-jail; OHCHR, 7 February 2017; BBC, 7 August 2015. 229 Political Prisoners in Thailand, ‘Sasiwimol’, Available at: https://thaipoliticalprisoners.wordpress. com/decidedcases/sasiwimol/; OHCHR, February 2017; BBC, 7 August 2015. 230 Political Prisoners in Thailand, ‘Phongsak’, Available at: https://thaipoliticalprisoners.wordpress. com/decidedcases/pongsak-s/; OHCHR, February 2017; BBC News, ‘Thai courts give record jail terms for insulting king’, 7 August 2015 (‘BBC, 7 August 2015’) Available at: https://www.bbc. com/news/world-asia-33819814 231 UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, ‘Opinion No. 44/2016 concerning Pongsak Sriboonpeng (Thailand)’, A/HRC/WGAD/2016/44, 17 January 2017, Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/ Documents/Issues/Detention/Opinions/Session77/A-HRC-WGAD-2016-44_en.pdf; UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, ‘Opinion No. 51/2017 concerning Sasiphimon Patomwongfangam (Thailand)’, A/HRC/WGAD/2017/51, 13 October 2017, Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/ Documents/Issues/Detention/Opinions/Session79/A_HRC_WGAD_2017_51.pdf; UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, ‘Opinion No. 56/2017 concerning Thiansutham Suthijitseranee (Thailand)’, A/HRC/WGAD/2017/56, 13 October 2017, Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/ Detention/Opinions/Session79/A_HRC_WGAD_2017_56.pdf. 69