<p dir="ltr">Two lѐse majesté convicts have been released on royal pardons after being imprisoned for almost two years.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Bureau of the Royal Household of the Thai Monarchy recently approved the requests for royal pardons from an editor of the <a href="http://www.thaienews.blogspot.com/">Thai E News website</a> with the pseudonym ‘Somsak Pakdeedech’ and Pol Sgt Maj Prasit Chaisrisa, a former Member of Parliament (MP) for the Pheu Thai Party, who were both convicted under Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the lѐse majesté law.</p>

<div><span>Record on lese majeste cases since 2010 shows that the military court is likely to hold &nbsp;more trials in camera and sentence lese majeste convicts to more years in prison in comparison to the civilian court.</span></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <p></p>

<div> <div>The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) strongly criticizes the conviction against a Thai editor and calls for his immediate release.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> </div> <div>Somsak Pakdeedech*&nbsp;was the editor of Thai E-News and was sentenced on Monday to four and half years, which was half the original sentence because he pled guilty, for defaming Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej under the country’s lѐse majesté laws. </div>