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BANGKOK (Reuters) – A distinguished Thai politician faces as much as 20 years in jail following his indictment on Monday for insulting the king and violating a cyber regulation, after he criticised the federal government for over-reliance on a royal-owned agency to provide COVID-19 vaccines.
Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the 43-year-old chief of the disbanded Future Ahead Get together, is accused of lese majeste and breaking cyber legal guidelines in a January, 2021 Fb Reside stream, throughout which he stated the federal government had mishandled its vaccine marketing campaign and unfairly favoured Siam Bioscience, a agency owned by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
Thailand has one of many world’s strictest lese majeste legal guidelines and a conviction carries a most sentence of 15 years, whereas breaches of its pc crimes act are punishable by as much as 5 years in jail.
Thanathorn, who was granted bail on Monday, denies insulting the monarchy and stated his criticism was directed on the authorities, not the royal household.
“What I did was supposed for public profit and to guard the royal establishment,” he informed reporters.
“I wish to stress that the utilization of this regulation is just not factor, and definitely not good for the monarchy,” he added, referring to the lese majeste regulation.
Siam Bioscience, which had not produced vaccines previous to final yr, was chosen to fabricate the COVID vaccine of Britain’s AstraZeneca for distribution in Southeast Asia. It additionally acquired $20 million in authorities subsidies to develop its capability.
Thanathorn had additionally complained the federal government ought to have diversified its sources of vaccines.
Thailand subsequently used three various kinds of COVID vaccines, which Thanathorn stated was proof his remarks have been within the public curiosity.
The grievance towards him was lodged by an official within the prime minister’s workplace. The federal government, AstraZeneca and Siam Bioscience have stood by the vaccine manufacturing settlement.
The workplace of the lawyer common didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Thanathorn was banned from politics for 10 years in 2020 by the Constitutional Courtroom over a mortgage he gave his former opposition get together. His indictment comes as scores of members of a pupil pro-democracy motion affiliated along with his get together await trial on comparable expenses, which they deny.
(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Writing by Martin Petty; Enhancing by Kanupriya Kapoor)
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