Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been acquitted of lèse majesté (royal defamation) and computer crime charges stemming from a 2015 interview with South Korea’s Chosun Media.
Today, August 22, the Criminal Court delivered its verdict on the case filed by the Office of Criminal Litigation 8. Prosecutors had accused Thaksin of violating Section 112 of the Criminal Code (Thailand’s royal defamation law) and the Computer Crimes Act.
The charges centred around Thaksin’s remarks in a video interview with a South Korean journalist, where he allegedly made comments interpreted as defamatory to the monarchy.
SiamRath reported that Thaksin, now 75 years of age, appeared in court with a smile and spoke briefly to the press, simply stating “Acquitted” before quickly leaving the premises.
The court found that the video clips used as evidence were incomplete excerpts and lacked the full context of the interview. While witnesses confirmed that the man in the videos was Thaksin, the prosecution could not present the original, unedited version.
Furthermore, forensic evidence confirming whether the clips had been doctored was inconclusive.
The prosecution relied heavily on testimony from individuals believed to be politically biased, including one linguistic expert and several anti-Thaksin demonstrators. The court noted that their interpretations of Thaksin’s words, particularly indirect references such as “he”, “Palace Circle”, or “military”, did not conclusively point to King Rama IX.
Additionally, the prosecution failed to prove intent or bring any credible evidence that Thaksin’s remarks were meant to defame or incite hatred toward the monarch. The court ruled that the statements criticised the 2014 military coup and figures such as former Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban and senior military officials, not the king.
The court also dismissed the computer crime charge, stating that since the interview itself did not contain illegal content, its dissemination online did not violate national security provisions under the Computer Crimes Act.
Thaksin had denied all allegations throughout the proceedings and was granted bail with restrictions on overseas travel during the trial.
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