Curtailing Free Expression, Opinion and Information Online in Southeast Asia (‘article 112’) punishes “(w)hoever, defames, insults or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent” with three to fifteen years’ imprisonment.197 Lesè majesté charges and convictions rose sharply after the military coup of May 2014, targeting individuals who made posts on social media platforms, particularly Facebook, which were deemed defamatory to the monarchy. At least 61 people were prosecuted in the year following the coup, and at least 33 people were charged between 2016 and 2017 during the period of mourning following the death of King Bhumipol.198 As of May 2019, freedom of expression monitoring group iLaw documented that at least 99 individuals had been charged with lesè majesté offences, with some alleged offenders sent for interrogation or “attitude adjustment” sessions by the military.199 The military government also issued an order in 2014 extending the jurisdiction of military courts to include lesè majesté offences, in violation of international law.200 In September 2016, Thailand’s Prime Minister revoked orders which had granted military courts the jurisdiction to try lesè majesté cases.201 However, charges relating to alleged violations committed before September 2016 continued to be tried before military courts until the Prime Minister issued another order ending the practice in July 2019.202 lèse majesté prosecutions in 2018’, 15 January 2019, Available at: https://www.tlhr2014. com/?p=10431&lang=en 197 English translation of Thai Criminal Code B.E. 2499 (1956), Available at: http://library.siam-legal. com/thai-law/criminal-code-royal-family-sections-107-112/ 198 Kas Chanwanpen, ‘Junta reins in lese majeste’, The Nation, 1 October 2018, http://www. nationmultimedia.com/detail/politics/30355507 199 iLaw, ‘Latest statistics as of 21 May 2019’, Available at: https://freedom.ilaw.or.th/en/content/ latest-statistic 200 See for eg. ICJ on the case of Khathawut B., ICJ, ‘Thailand: End prosecution of civilians in military tribunals’, 19 November 2014, Available at: https://www.icj.org/thailand-end-prosecution-ofcivilians-in-military-tribunals/; Principle 5 of the Draft Principles Governing the Administration of Justice through Military Tribunals clarifies that “military courts should, in principle, have no jurisdiction to try civilians”, Available at: https://undocs.org/E/CN.4/2006/58 201 The Head of Thailand’s National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and Thailand’s Prime Minister, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, issued NCPO Order No. 55/2016 revoking NCPO Orders No. 37/2014, 38/2014 and 50/2014 which had allowed for the military court to have jurisdiction to try certain cases involving civilians, ICJ, ‘Thailand: ICJ welcomes Order phasing out prosecution of civilians in military courts but government must do much more’, 12 September 2016, Available at: https:// www.icj.org/thailand-icj-welcomes-order-phasing-out-prosecution-of-civilians-in-military-courtsbut-government-must-do-much-more/ 202 The issuance by the Head of the NCPO (HNCPO) of HNCPO Order No. 9/2562 ended the trial of civilians in military courts. TLHR has, however, raised concerns about this order, See TLHR, ‘Military authorities can still arbitrarily detain civilians Analysis of the Head of the NCPO Order no. 9/2562 that repealed some Announcements/Orders that are no longer necessary’, 11 July 2019, Available at: https://www.tlhr2014.com/?p=12995&fbclid=IwAR3Aaizz-w5-0EWtPyd1FojKO0bDppesTkun_ e3CHG9l8zrLTk5tmByp6ng&lang=en 63