Thai man could get 37 years in prison for insulting King's dog
Thanakorn Siripaiboon was arrested at his home in Bangkok last week after authorities accused the factory worker of writing a 鈥渟arcastic鈥� post on social media about Tongdaeng, King Bhumibol Adulyadej鈥檚 beloved rescue dog.
The military refuses to publish the specifics of the post, but Mr. Thanakorn could face a total of 37 years in prison for his comments about Tongdaeng, whose name means "copper." Thailand鈥檚 l猫se-majest茅 laws, which protect the royal family from any insult or threat, have witnessed resurgence in recent years.
鈥淚 never imagined they would ,鈥� Thanakorn鈥檚 lawyer聽Anon Numpa told The New York Times. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nonsense.鈥�
The absurdity of this case draws attention to Thailand鈥檚 l猫se-majest茅 laws, but this Southeast Asian monarchy is not the only country to boast similar protection laws for royal families. In Europe, for example, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain all have l猫se-majest茅 laws. And while these countries do not use monarchy defamation laws as frequently as Thailand, they are still alive.聽
In 2007, two Spanish cartoonists were found guilty of offending the royal family after Crown Prince Felipe and his wife Letizia were on the cover of the satirical magazine El Jueves. The edition was pulled from newsstands across the county and both Guillermo Torres and Manel Fontdevila were fined 鈧�2,000.
Dutch activist Abulkasim al-Jaberi was arrested and fined 鈧�500 in Nov. 2014 after aimed at King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and his wife, Queen Maxima. Al-Jaberi was part of a demonstration in Amsterdam protesting the Dutch 鈥淏lack Pete鈥� children鈥檚 figure, claiming it has racist connotations.聽
And similar anti-defamation laws exist outside of monarchies. A Turkish doctor faced two years in jail after comparing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the Lord of the Ring鈥檚 character Gollum earlier this month, 海角大神 reported. The charge was later dropped because the judge had not seen the film.聽
Other monarchies, such as Britain, have l猫se-majest茅 laws in place but have not applied them for more then a century. And some Thai activists say their monarchy needs to show similar restraint.聽
鈥淚f we鈥檙e going to have political reform, then we have to abolish the l猫se-majest茅 laws,鈥� Giles Ungpakorn, a professor of politics at Bangkok鈥檚 Chulalongkorn University told 海角大神. 鈥淲e have to be able to talk about the important issues in Thai society and the role of the monarchy.鈥澛�
King Bhumibol, 88, wrote a best-selling book about Tongdaeng in 2002. An animated film based on the dog鈥檚 life, titled 鈥淜hun Tongdaeng: The Inspiration,鈥� was released in theaters last week and it is already a box office success.聽聽
Some Thai are unsurprised about the extension of royal protection laws to Tongdaeng because the dog 鈥渉as been for her incredible loyalty, gratefulness, and bravery,鈥� said Vinij Lertratanachi, the producer of the recent animated film. Praised for her obedience, Tongdaeng has been revered as a model of how Thais should behave towards Bhumibol, the longest serving King in Thailand鈥檚 history.
Tongdaeng 鈥渋s humble and knows protocol,鈥� and she would 鈥� than the king,鈥� Bhumibol writes in his book.聽
