Thai activist Tantawan Tuatulanon was sentenced to two years in prison without suspension by a Bangkok criminal court on Monday, August 31, in case No. A1237/2022, following a conviction under the country’s strict royal defamation law for a 2022 Facebook livestream near a royal motorcade.
The 2022 Livestream Incident and Court Conviction
The criminal proceedings against activist Tantawan Tuatulanon stem from an event on March 5, 2022. The activist broadcasted a Facebook livestream from a footpath on Ratchadamnoen Nok Road, positioned directly opposite the United Nations headquarters in Bangkok.
Law enforcement had just cleared away a long-standing farmers’ protest along the route to accommodate an upcoming royal motorcade for King Maha Vajiralongkorn. During her broadcast, Tantawan questioned the conduct of police who dispersed the demonstrators. The Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek Road ruled that her commentary crossed legal boundaries.
Judges determined that Tantawan, who had studied law, should have recognized that officers were securing the head of state according to the same standards observed in other countries. The court stated that she repeatedly encouraged viewers to make inappropriate references to the monarch.
The court said she had insulted the monarchy on multiple occasions, showing her conduct was “not a good-faith exercise of rights”.
Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, via Agence France-Presse
Charges, Reduced Sentences, and Bail Conditions
The prosecution brought charges under multiple statutes, including Section 112 of the Criminal Code—widely known as the lèse-majesté law—and Section 14 of the Computer Crime Act for introducing false information into a computer system. Prosecutors also accused her of resisting or obstructing officials and failing to comply with an official order.
Initially, the court handed down a three-year prison term and a 900 baht fine. Judges later applied a one-third reduction, citing the usefulness of her defense evidence as a mitigating factor, which lowered the prison sentence to two years without suspension and the fine to 600 baht. The court additionally ordered the confiscation of the phone used in the incident.
On the charge of disobeying police directives, the court found that law enforcement warned Tantawan three times to stop filming. Pol Col Somyot Udomraksap, then chief of Nang Loeng police station, ordered two female officers to restrain her by holding her arms and legs. While the court ruled that the police chief held proper authority to issue the order, it acquitted Tantawan of assaulting officers, finding that she reacted out of fear because police had not initially told her where she would be taken.
Following the verdict, her legal team secured her temporary release by posting 100,000 baht in security. The court granted bail under a strict condition barring her from leaving Thailand unless she receives prior permission from the court.
Legal Defense Strategy and Appeal Plans
Defense attorney Khumklao Songsomboon maintained her client’s innocence throughout the seven hearings held between 2023 and 2026. Speaking with reporters after the verdict, Tantawan asserted that she stood by her statements regarding the farmers who had spent days demanding attention from the authorities outside the United Nations office.
Her legal representatives confirmed plans to challenge the conviction in a higher court. Lawyer Khumklao emphasized that the prosecution of the livestream infringed upon fundamental liberties.
“This is simply an exercise of freedom of speech questioning the police’s work and right to assembly,” said Khumklao. “We have fought this far and will definitely continue to do so.”
Khumklao Songsomboon, Defense Attorney
Broader Legal Landscape Under Section 112
Under Section 112 of Thailand’s criminal code, individuals convicted of insulting, defaming or threatening the king or his family face prison sentences of up to 15 years per offence. Legal advocacy organizations argue that the broad interpretation of the legislation has transformed it into a tool to target dissent.
Data compiled by the legal advocacy network Thai Lawyers for Human Rights indicates that nearly 300 individuals have faced lese-majeste charges since pro-democracy protests began in 2020. Those protests drew tens of thousands of participants, many of them young people calling for institutional reforms.
Tantawan faces additional legal challenges separate from the 2022 livestream verdict. She and another activist were arrested in 2024 for allegedly chasing a royal motorcade carrying Princess Sirindhorn, the king’s sister. Those separate proceedings, which involve additional allegations of sedition and computer crimes, remain pending in the court system.
