Activist dresses like Thai queen, jailed for 2 years
After a court determined that an activist in Thailand insulted the monarchy by dressed like the Thai queen, she was sentenced to two years in prison.
In 2020, Jatuporn ‘New’ Saeoueng, 25, came at a political rally in Bangkok dressed in a pink dress like Thai queen.
She disputed the claim that she had insulted the king, claiming that she had only worn a customary outfit.
“I have no intention to mock anyone. I dressed for myself on that day, for a version of myself in a Thai tradition dress,” she claimed.
However, Thailand’s well-known harsh rules essentially forbid criticising the king and other royals.
Rights organizations claim that since King Maha Vajiralongkorn took the throne in 2019, authorities have used lèse-majesté laws more frequently to crush a protest movement that called for reform of the veto-wielding monarchy.
According to Thai legal organizations, at least 210 demonstrators have been prosecuted with lèse-majesté offences since November 2020, after a three-year period in which the law was not at all implemented.
Activist dresses like Thai queen, jailed for 2 years
The red-carpet demonstration, one of many that year criticising the monarchy and its sway over the military administration, was held the same week as one of King Vajiralongkorn’s daughters’ fashion presentations.
A former civil servant who was found to have disparaged the royal family on social media was given a 43-year prison term last year.
Regarding either of these lèse-majesté cases, the palace has made no comments.
The 2014 coup that removed a democratically elected civilian government from power and installed a military-backed government under the leadership of an ex-junta leader was the initial aim of the protest movement. But afterwards, it included the new monarch and the royal family in its criticisms.
However, protest leaders were careful to advocate for modifications to the institution, breaking a taboo against criticising the monarchy.
