<p>A court has found not guilty Bundit Aneeya, an 80-year-old writer and translator in his third lèse majesté trial. The court ruled that his allegedly criminal comment made in public in 2015 did not directly refer to the monarch. His comment could be interpreted in many ways.</p>

<p>On 20&nbsp;January, the Court of Appeal objected to the bail request of Anchan (surname omitted), a 63 year old woman who faces 43 years and 6 months jail sentence under the Lèse-majesté law punishment.</p>

<p>The record-breaking&nbsp;sentence delivered to <a href="https://prachatai.com/english/node/9023">Anchan</a>, 63, who was found guilty of&nbsp;lèse majesté, is a &quot;serious assault&quot; on freedom of expression and shows how Section 112 is inconsistent&nbsp;with international human rights law, says Amnesty International&#39;s&nbsp;Asia-Pacific Regional Director.</p>

<p>Anchan (pseudonym), 63,&nbsp;found guilty under Section 112 of the Criminal Code, has been sentenced to 87 years in prison, with the sentence reduced because of her confession and 3 years spent in prison pending her trial. The net sentence is 43 years and 6 months, the longest sentence ever under Section 112.</p>

<p>Sirichai (last name withheld), a freshman at the Puey Ungphakorn School of Development Studies, Thammasat University, and a member of the student activist group United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration, was arrested during Wednesday night (13 January) on a royal defamation charge under Section 112.</p>

<p>3 more people have been charged with royal defamation under Section 112 of the Criminal Code, bringing the number of people facing Section 112 charges to 40.</p>

<p>On 22 December, the Criminal Court found Patnaree Chankij, the mother of pro-democracy activist Sirawith Seritiwat, not guilty of charges under the lèse majesté law and the Computer Crime Act after she responded in a chat with her son&rsquo;s friend with &lsquo;cha&rsquo; (yes).</p>

<p>Amnesty International has issued an <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa39/3470/2020/en/">appeal</a> for its members worldwide to send letters to Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha calling for an end to criminal prosecutions of peaceful protestors.</p>

<p>Ravina Shamdasani, the spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, issued a <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26621&amp;LangID=E">statement</a> today (18 December) raising concerns over the Thai authorities charging protesters with charges under Section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code, Thailand&#39;s lèse majesté law.</p>

<p>Two students facing charges under the lèse majesté law for participating in a &ldquo;fashion show&rdquo; during a pro-democracy protest on Silom Road went to hear the charges yesterday (17 December), while members of the We Volunteer protest guard group and other protesters gathered outside the police station in Thai traditional dress to show support.</p>

<p>The number of people involved in recent protests who have been charged under Section 112 continues to rise as 31 people have now been summoned, one of whom is 16 years old. Meanwhile, the public prosecutor in Nakhon Phanom has issued a prosecution order in the case of a man accused of royal defamation for a Facebook post made in 2016.</p>