Bangkok People’s Party MP cleared of lèse-majesté

The Criminal Court acquitted Bangkok People's party MP Piyarat Chongthep today of committing lèse majesté.

He was also cleared of charges under the Computer Crime Act, which related to the posting of messages criticising the dispersal of protests and referring to the monarchy.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges and had been released on bail during the trial.

The court found that the posts in question appeared on his Facebook page, which had five administrators, but that there was no clear evidence that he had made the posts himself.

Moreover, the prosecution’s evidence showed that the posts appeared at 2.15pm on December 31st, 2020, while the defendant was already being held in custody at the Region 1 Border Patrol Police Bureau.

Given these circumstances, the court ruled that the defendant should be given the benefit of the doubt and acquitted him on all charges.