Thai lawmaker is sentenced to 6 years for defaming the monarchy

 

 

BANGKOK — A court in Thailand convicted and sentenced a recently elected lawmaker Wednesday to six years in prison for defaming the monarchy under a controversial law that guards the royal institution.

Human Rights Watch decried the ruling, saying it “violated her rights to freedom of expression protected under international human rights law.”

Rukchanok Srinork arrived for her court hearing in the capital, Bangkok, as her fellow lawmakers were convening in Parliament.

“I submitted a request to postpone (the hearing) because today the new parliament convenes for its first session, but the court refused. So I came to hear the verdict,” she told reporters,…

Keep on reading: Thai lawmaker is sentenced to 6 years for defaming the monarchy