The Royal Thai Police have announced that they are now working on 194 lèse majesté cases.
On 9 November 2016, Pol Maj Gen Songphon Wattanachai, Deputy Spokesperson of the Royal Thai Police (RTP), announced that the police have documented 194 alleged violations of Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the lèse majesté law.
The officer added that 10 persons have already been arrested while the authorities are now trying to arrest 17 more.
The police added that Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the junta leader and Prime Minister, has ordered the authorities to speed up the arrest of lèse majesté suspects who fled abroad, adding that Thailand has extradition agreements with 16 nations.
For countries where Thailand does not have an extradition agreement, the police will cooperate with Interpol to try to arrest suspects.
The police statement came one day after Gen Paiboon Kumchaya, the Justice Minister, said that foreign ambassadors to Thailand understood the “feelings and perspectives of Thai people”.
The Justice Minister also said that the embassies were cooperative as the Thai authorities are seeking the extradition of lèse majesté suspects.
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