Thai MPs face trial over bid to amend royal insult law
Dozens of current and former opposition lawmakers will be tried in Thailand over an attempt to change a law shielding the monarchy from criticism, the country’s Supreme Court said, in another blow to the country’s progressive movement.
The 44 people due to stand trial on June 30 for alleged ethics violations include sitting and former MPs of the People’s Party and its disbanded predecessor, Move Forward; Each of these men faces lifetime disqualification from office if convicted.
Hundreds of people have been prosecuted in recent years under Thailand’s lese-majeste law, one of the strictest laws of its kind in the world, and criminals have been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.
Following mass youth-led, anti-government street protests that included calls for reform of the monarchy, Move Forward sought to change the law in parliament in 2021, arguing that it was being misused to suppress political opponents.
Thailand’s constitution enshrines the king as a “revered worshipper” and royalists regard the palace as sacred.
The liberal agenda of the People’s Party and its pioneers has created powerful enemies among Thailand’s conservative establishment, with the movement being turned the wrong way by numerous court rulings, including the dissolution of two parties.
The 44 people include People’s Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, four deputy leaders and former Forward Movement leader Pita Limjaroenrat, who is currently serving a 10-year ban from politics.
“We will continue our legal fight in the Supreme Court until the end to defend the legitimacy of the power of representation in parliamentary democracy,” People’s Party leader Natthaphong said at a press conference on Friday. he said.
The progressive movement’s huge popularity among young, urban Thais propelled Move Forward to victory in the 2023 general election, but it was blocked from forming a government by MPs allied with the royalist military.
In 2024, a court ruled that Move Forward’s attempt to reform royal libel law was unconstitutional and undermined the democratic system.
It was later dissolved by the same court and its top leaders banned, but members regrouped as the People’s Party days later.
The Supreme Court case stems from a petition filed by Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission, which has broad investigative powers beyond corruption.
The court said that the 44 MPs involved in the incident would not be suspended from duty.
Despite wide margins in opinion polls, the People’s Party came a surprising second to Prime Minister Anutin Chanvirakul’s Bhumjaithai Party in the February general election.
