<p>Chaiamorn &lsquo;Ammy&rsquo; Kaewwiboonpan, lead singer of the pop band The Bottom Blues, is among 3 people against whom the police have requested an arrest warrant for lèse majesté, arson and computer crimes over the burning of a King Rama X big portrait in front of Klong Prem Central prison on the night of 27 February.</p>

<p>Four protest leaders currently in detention pending trial have been denied bail for a third time after spending the past 14 days at Bangkok Remand Prison.</p>

<p>The US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has expressed concerns about the recent arrests of Thai protesters and several lengthy&nbsp;lese-majeste&nbsp;sentences in recent weeks.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The public prosecutor has yet to rule on whether to file a case against 18 people involved in the 19 &ndash; 20 September 2020 protests and has postponed the hearing to 8 March 2021; meanwhile four activists detained last week pending trial were once again denied bail.</p>

<p>Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch concern over the bail denial of the 4 prominent activists as&nbsp;an abuse of the judicial process to silence peaceful critics.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A spokesperson for the state prosecutor has announced that cases has been filed against Anon Nampa, Somyot Pruksakasemsuk, Patipan Luecha and Parit Chiwarak under Section 112 of the Criminal Code for giving speeches about the monarchy in protests during 2020, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/TLHR2014/status/1359038920021872645">Thai Lawyers for Human Rights</a>.</p>

<p>UN human rights experts today expressed grave concerns over Thailand&rsquo;s increasingly severe use of lèse-majesté laws to curtail criticism of the monarchy, and said they were alarmed that a woman had been sentenced to over 43 years in prison for insulting the royal family.</p>

<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>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>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>