Narathorn Chotmankongsin hails from Bangkok, Thailand (Narathorn Chotman shares). He is said to have sold calendars for the year 2021 in Thailand. It had a photo of yellow rubber ducks emblazoned on it. At a rally in Bangkok in 2020, protesters held banners emblazoned with yellow rubber ducks against the government. Since then, the people of the country have started using yellow rubber duck symbols for anti-government protests.
In this case, Narathorn Chotmankongsin sold a satirical calendar with photographs of yellow ducks, which he attributed to King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand. Maha Vajiralongkorn It was supposed to be meant to be mocking. It is also a mockery of their monarchy. Also, Narathorn Sotmankongsin (26) was charged with defamation. He was subsequently arrested. The case was being tried at the Bangkok Criminal Court. In this case, the verdict in that case has been delivered today.
In it, the judges ruled that “anyone who slanders, insults or threatens the king, queen, heir or ruler can be imprisoned for 3 to 15 years. Based on this, the offender is sentenced to three years in prison.” Meanwhile, as the victim’s lawyer argued, the verdict was changed to two years in prison without parole.
Elaine Pearson, executive director of Human Rights Watch, condemned the verdict, saying, “This case sends a message to Thailand and the rest of the world that Thailand has not yet become a rights-respecting democracy. It is wrong to punish someone for selling a calendar that satirizes the king.”