In a secret hearing, a provincial court has revoked bail in a lèse majesté case, ruling that the suspect insulted the authorities in a Facebook post.
On 22 December 2016, Khon Kaen Provincial Court approved a police request to revoke bail for Jatuphat Boonpattaraksa, the first person charged with lèse majesté under the reign of King Maha Vajiralongkorn. The court conducted the hearing in secret and ruled that the suspect has violated bail conditions.
The request stated that after being released, Jatuphat post an allegedly satirical message against the authorities on his Facebook account. The message leading to the revocation reads “Economy is poor but they (authorities) took my money for bail.”
He is detained at Khon Kaen Central Prison but his lawyer will submit another bail request.
Jatuphat, also known as Pai, was arrested on 3 December, only two days after the king’s accession. He was accused of violating Article 112 of the Criminal Code for sharing on his Facebook account a controversial biography of the new king published by BBC Thai.
Jatuphat is a key member of the New Democracy Movement (NDM) anti-junta activist group. He currently faces several charges for organising and participating in anti-junta activities.
Jatuphat Boonpattaraksa
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