No. 7/2014 and Order No. 3/2015), and also other laws to repress opponents to the establishment (the Public Assembly Act of 2015, the Computer Crimes Act, and the Referendum Act). The NCPO has summoned more than 1,300 people to report and forced them to be under an “attitude adjustment” programme. It has arrested at least 500 people on political grounds, and has also established jurisdiction of the military court over civilian cases under “national security” offences or charges against people who do not kneel before the NCPO. As this report will show, the prosecution and conviction rates under existing criminal and civil procedure laws have increased dramatically. Arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detentions under the NCPO have become commonplace. Indeed, the NCPO uses repression as a central strategy to enact and enforce its policies. This was clearly seen in the use of the Referendum Act in the August 2016 constitutional referendum. The Act, in effect, criminalised any form of campaigning against the junta-written constitution. Within this repressive environment, the new constitution entrenches the role of the military in the future politics of Thailand, with the Senate being fully appointed by the NCPO, a new electoral system that disadvantages large, established parties being instituted, and non-party members eligible to become the prime minister. In addition, Section 44 has also been used at least 160 times by General Prayuth to push through a raft of administrative and economic reforms. The NCPO-appointed National Reform Committee is also in the process of drafting a 20year National Strategy Plan, which is a series of long-term policies that future elected governments will be legally forced to adhere to. This report will focus on the legal means that the NCPO uses to entrench itself politically and repress dissent. Specifically, it will examine the use of provisions in the criminal code and civil procedure, executive orders and announcements, and laws approved by the rubber-stamp National Legislative Assembly. Lèse majesté: Section 112 of the Penal Code The lèse majesté law in Thailand is located in Section 112 of the Thai Penal Code, and is classed under offences against the monarchy. Section 112 states: “Whoever defames, insults, or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent, or the Regent, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to fifteen years.” Due to the fact that Thailand has a long-lasting history of absolute monarchy, the people’s beliefs and national culture are very much based on the monarchy institution. This law became problematic during the reign of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, King Rama IX of the Chakri dynasty, who was in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest reigning monarch. Before he passed away on 13 October 2016, King Rama IX had carried out a lot of royal projects for social benefit. During the military regimes in the 1950s to 1970s, the new ideology was promoted, the monarchy was established as the heart of the nation, and the penalty for lèse majesté offences was increased. The mainstream ideology among the Thai people considered the King as god and as a symbol of goodness. Thai constitutions usually state that the King shall be enthroned in a position of revered worship and shall not be violated. No person shall expose the King to any sort of accusation or action. The lèse majesté law and its enforcement have become the most sensitive and controversial issue in Thai political conflict for the past 10 years. Political opponents have accused the other side of being disloyal to the monarchy and thus guilty of lèse majesté. This accusation is the most severe in Thai society. People who are accused of lèse majesté can be perceived by the society as wicked people and also a threat to national harmony. During the crackdown on red shirt protests in 2010 that led to nearly a hundred deaths, the government accused protesters of being anti-monarchy. Soon after the crackdown a number of people were arrested under the charge of lèse majesté for expressing their views on the political conflict. The demand for reforming the lèse majesté law was also rising during that time. However, even the elected government led by Yingluck Shinawatra did not consider the proposal from the pro-democracy wing to amend the law. From 23 May 2014 to 17 May 2017, under the NCPO regime, at least 90 people were charged with lèse majesté for peacefully expressing views on the King and other royal family members.1 Since the political movement was restricted in other media, most of the cases concerned online expression, especially on Facebook. The problems of the enforcement of Section 112 The problematic aspects of the lèse majesté law have been discussed for years. Legal experts and other academics including those from many 1 iLaw. (2016, 10 May). Interesting statistics concerning bail in 112 cases in NCPO era. Freedom of Expression Documentation Centre. https://freedom.ilaw.or.th/en/blog/ interesting-statistics-concerning-bail-112-cases-ncpo-era THAILAND / 119