A Thai criminal court has acquitted prominent opposition figure Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit of charges alleging he insulted the monarchy and violated cybercrime laws during a 2021 Facebook livestream.
Thanathorn, the 47‑year‑old founder of the progressive movement now aligned with the opposition People’s Party, had been accused of lese majeste and breaching Thailand’s strict computer crimes act. The charges stemmed from a January 2021 livestream in which he criticised the government’s handling of the COVID‑19 vaccine rollout and questioned its preferential treatment of Siam Bioscience, a company owned by King Maha Vajiralongkorn. He was formally indicted in 2022.
Thailand’s lese majeste laws are among the harshest in the world, carrying penalties of up to 15 years in prison per offence. Violations of the computer crimes act can add another five years. The acquittal marks a significant legal victory for Thanathorn, who has long been a target of political and legal pressure.
His lawyer, Krisadang Nutcharat, said prosecutors have 30 days to appeal the ruling. The Office of the Attorney General has not yet commented.
Thanathorn has remained a central figure in Thailand’s pro‑democracy movement despite being banned from politics for 10 years in 2020 over a loan he provided to the now‑dissolved Future Forward Party, the predecessor to the People’s Party.
The verdict is expected to reverberate across Thailand’s political landscape, where debates over free speech, royal criticism and democratic reform continue to intensify.
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