Da Torpedo refuses to appeal latest sentence
Red-shirt hardliner Daranee Charncherngsilapakul, better known as Da Torpedo, was yesterday sentenced to 15 years in prison for slandering Their Majesties the King and Queen during a Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship (DAAD) rally three years ago.
Yesterday’s verdict followed the previous 18-year sentence she was handed in August 2009, which could not be enforced because she had filed an appeal against the close-door trial. In her petition, Daranee demanded that the Constitution Court provide a legal interpretation of the trial, claiming it was unconstitutional.
The Constitution Court ruled in February that the confidential trial, mandated by Article 117 of the Criminal Procedural Code, was not unconstitutional but ordered that the previous sentence be revoked and the case be tried again relying on the same testimonies.
After hearing the latest verdict, Daranee said she would not appeal against it because she did not believe in the Thai justice system and would not seek a royal pardon either. She has been under court custody since mid 2008.
In the verdict, Daranee was given a five-year term for each of the three speeches she made at a DAAD rally near the Grand Palace, in which she alleged that Their Majesties were behind the 2006 military coup that toppled Thaksin Shinawatra’s government.
