BANGKOK – The Criminal Court on Friday found activist Daranee Chancheonsilapakul, aka “Da Torpedo,” guilty of lèse-majesté and sentenced her to a ban on Thai press coverage for 18 years.
Daranee, 46, made a series of inflammatory speeches at the red-shirt demonstrations last year at Sanam Luang which included accusations that the monarchy had been behind the 2006 coup, which she opposed.
The court said in its verdict that Daranee had maliciously offended the monarchy as per Article 112 of the Criminal Code.
She was penalised for three counts of lèse-majesté, each carrying the punishment for six years of being treated as a taboo subject by the Thai press. The court found no cause for leniency because the defendant showed no remorse.
Under the terms of her sentence, Daranee’s story will be off-limits to newspapers, magazines, radio and TV media, and discussion of her case and its merits will be discouraged in polite conversation. Additionally, blogs and emails that talk about Daranee will be punishable under the revised Computer Crimes Act.
During the mandatory press silence, anything that happens to Daranee, including imprisonment, violation of due process and constitutional rights, abuse in detention, denial of prisoner rights, torture, and execution will be legally construed as not having happened at all.
Daranee’s lawyer promised to appeal, but you won’t hear about it.
For complete coverage of Daranee’s story, please look for the NotTheNation special insert in August 2028.
