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Lèse majesté is the crime of violating majesty, an offence against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. It has been prohibited by the law of Thailand since 1908.〔(NEWS.BBC.co.uk )〕 In 1932, when Thailand's monarchy ceased to be absolute and a constitution was adopted, it too included language prohibiting lèse-majesté. The 2007 constitution of Thailand, and all seventeen versions since 1932, contain the clause, "The king shall be enthroned in a position of revered worship and shall not be violated. No person shall expose the king to any sort of accusation or action." The Thai Criminal Code elaborates in section 112: "Whoever defames, insults or threatens the king, queen, heir-apparent, or regent shall be punished with imprisonment of three to fifteen years." Missing from the code, however, is a definition of what actions constitute "defamation" or "insult".〔(NEWS.BBC.co.uk )〕 As mentioned in the criminal code, lèse majesté only applies to criticism of the king, queen, crown prince, and regent. Tanin Kraivixien, a former Supreme Court justice, reinterpreted this as a blanket ban against criticism of royal development projects, the royal institution, the Chakri Dynasty, or any Thai king. The reinterpretation has stood to the present day. In addition, the Supreme Court of Justice of Thailand decided in 2013 that the term "king" in section 112 of the Criminal Code also applies to previous or deceased monarchs, not only the reigning one. This decision has led to many lèse majesté cases based upon past monarchs. One of the notable cases is the 2014 charge against prominent scholar Sulak Sivaraksa who, during an academic forum, raised doubts about an elephant battle between Ayutthayan King Naresuan and Burmese Prince Mingyi Swa that took place 400 years ago. Another notable case is that against Michael Wright, a deceased British historian who doubted the genuineness of the Ramkhamhaeng Inscription, allegedly created by King Ramkhamhaeng about 800 years ago.〔''Seditious Histories: Contesting Thai and Southeast Asian Pasts'', by Craig J. Reynolds. University of Washington Press, 2006, p. vii〕 From 1990 to 2005, the Thai court system only saw four or five lèse majesté cases a year. From January 2006 to May 2011, however, more than 400 cases came to trial, an estimated 1,500 percent increase. For example, there were 478 cases in 2010 alone.〔FT, (High time to concede the Thai king can do wrong ), 20 July 2011〕 Observers attribute the increase to King Bhumibol's public invitation of criticism in 2005, increased polarization following the 2006 military coup and speculation over Bhumibol's declining health.〔 Jail terms for Thai citizens committing ''lèse majesté'' are usually harsher than for foreigners. Cases are often filed by state authorities or by individuals, and anyone may take action against anyone else. In one notable incident during the 2005–2006 political crisis, deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his political opponent Sondhi Limthongkul filed charges of lèse majesté against each other. Thaksin's alleged lèse majesté was one of the stated reasons for the Thai military's 2006 coup.〔Asiaweek, (A Protective Law ), 3 December 1999 vol.45 no.28〕〔Colum Murphy, "(A Tug of War for Thailand’s Soul )", Far Eastern Economic Review, September 2006〕〔AFP, (Thai coup leader says new PM within two weeks ), 19 September 2006〕〔Time, (World Notes Thailand: Not Fit for a King ), 15 September 1986〕 Since the military coup of May 2014, the junta has brought 53 lèse majesté cases, 40 for comments posted or shared online. Military courts have routinely imposed harsher sentences than did the civilian courts. In August 2015, the Bangkok Military Court sentenced Pongsak Sriboonpeng to 60 years in prison for his six alleged lèse majesté Facebook postings (later reduced to 30 years when he pleaded guilty). It was Thailand’s longest recorded sentence for lèse majesté.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/09/18/world/asia/thailand-king-lese-majeste.html )〕 ==Scope of the law== The structure of offences of insult or defamation in the current Thai Criminal Code is divided into three groups and six levels: The first group is insult or defamation against ordinary persons. Insult against another person in his or her presence under Section 393 has a penalty of imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month or a fine not exceeding 1,000 baht, or both. The penalty for defamation under Sections 326 to 333 is imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or a fine not exceeding 20,000 baht, or both. The penalty for defamation by means of publication is imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to 200,000 baht. The second group is insult or defamation against state officials or the court. Insulting officials (Section 136) carries a penalty of imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of up to 20,000 baht, or both. Insulting the court or the judge (Section 198) presiding over a case carries a penalty of imprisonment for four to seven years, or a fine of 2,000 to 14,000 baht, or both. The third group is insult against the head of state of foreign countries or lèse-majesté. Insulting or threatening the king, queen, consort, heir-apparent, or the head of state of foreign countries (Section 133), which is an offence against friendly relations with foreign states, is punishable by one to seven years imprisonment or a fine of 2,000-140,000 baht, or both. The penalty for defaming, insulting or threatening the Thai monarch, the queen, heir-apparent, or regent (Section 112) is imprisonment for three to 15 years. Insulting or defaming a representative of a foreign state accredited to the royal court has the penalty of imprisonment for a term of six months to 15 years or a fine of 1,000-10,000 baht, or both. It is clear from the above that the Thai Criminal Code classifies offences of insult or defamation in accordance with the status of and relations among persons in line with ethical norms of Thai society. While the original penalty for lèse-majesté was a maximum of seven years imprisonment, it was toughened to a minimum of three years and a maximum of 15 years during the dictatorship of royalist Premier Tanin Kraivixien. Also banned was criticism of any member of the royal family, the royal development projects, the royal institution, the Chakri Dynasty, or any previous Thai king. These harsher provisions have been retained to the present day.〔 Recently, there is controversy over whether criticism of members of Bhumibol's Privy Council also qualifies as criticism of Bhumibol. Police Special Branch Commander Lt-General Theeradech Rodpho-thong refused to file charges of ''lèse majesté'' against activists who launched a petition to oust Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda, claiming that the law only applied to members of the royal family. Two days later, he was demoted by Police Commander Seripisut Temiyavet. During the Songkran 2009 unrest, Thaksin Shinawatra accused the privy council president of masterminding the 2006 military coup. Royalists interpreted this as an attack on Bhumibol. Calls to reform the lèse majesté laws have themselves resulted in charges of lèse majesté. Political Scientist Giles Ungpakorn noted that "the ''lèse majesté'' laws are not really designed to protect the institution of the monarchy. In the past the laws have been used to protect governments, to protect military coups. This whole () image is created to bolster a conservative elite well beyond the walls of the palace." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lèse majesté in Thailand」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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