Thai pullback from lese-majeste leaves censorship in another guise

Prayuth suddenly puts taboo subject up for public debate

20200619 Maha Vajiralongkorn AP

King Maha Vajiralongkorn has reportedly said he does not want Thailand's lèse-majesté law to be enforced.  © AP

MARWAAN MACAN-MARKAR, Asia regional correspondent

BANGKOK -- Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha may have inadvertently set the stage for a public debate on Thailand's lese-majeste law, which critics say has been weaponized by the kingdom's ultra-royalists and archconservatives to crush free speech.

Considered taboo even among far-right groups, Section 112 of the criminal code threatens jail terms of between 3 to 15 years for anyone who "defames, insults or threatens the king, the queen, the heir-apparent or the regent."

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