Thai man given 30 years for insulting monarchy in Facebook posts
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Bangkok (dpa) - A Thai military court sentenced a man to 30 years in jail Friday for Facebook posts deemed insulting to the country's revered monarchy.
The defendant pleaded guilty to posting six messages on Facebook that contravened Thailand's strict lese-majesty laws.
"It is the longest sentence handed out for such a case," said Poonsuk Poonsukcharoen from advocacy group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.
The ruling junta have used military courts to prosecute lese-majesty cases as the army considers the matter to be one of national security, Poonsuk said.
She added that a military court was likely to hand out harsher sentences than its civilian counterpart for such crimes.
