9/19/2019 Global Freedom of Expression | Public Prosecutor v. Jatupat Boonpattararaksa aka Pai Dao Din - Global Freedom of Expression Content Attribution Policy Global Freedom of Expression is an academic ini a ve and therefore, we encourage you to share and republish excerpts of our content so long as they are not used for commercial purposes and you respect the following policy: • A ribute Columbia Global Freedom of Expression as the source. • Link to the original URL of the specific case analysis, publica on, update, blog or landing page of the down loadable content you are referencing. A ribu on, copyright, and license informa on for media used by Global Freedom of Expression is available on our Credits (h ps://globalfreedomofexpression.columbia.edu/credits/) page. CAS E A NA LYS I S Case Summary and Outcome The Khon Kaen Provincial Court in Thailand sentenced Jatupat “Pai” Boonpa araraksa, also known as “Pai Dao Din”, to five years in prison on August 15, 2017 for sharing a profile of King Maha Vajiralongkorn wri en by the BBC news agency on his Facebook account. Jatupat had been charged with lese-majeste under Ar cle 112 of the Thai Criminal Code and commi ng a crime under Ar cle 14 (3) of the Computer Crime Act. The sentence was halved to two and a half years because Jatupat pleaded guilty. Columbia Global Freedom of Expression could not iden fy the official legal and government records on the case and notes that the informa on contained in this report was derived from secondary sources. It should be noted that media outlets may not provide complete informa on about this case. Addi onal informa on regarding this legal ma er will be updated as an official source becomes available. Facts On December 1, 2016 BBC’s Thai language service published a profile on its website of King Vajiralongkorn as he succeeded his father, King Bhumibol, to become the new king of Thailand. The ar cle was reported (h p://www.dw.com/en/thailand-inves gates-bbc-over-profile-of-new-king/a-36674149) to have been shared over 2,600 mes including by Jatupat who shared it on his Facebook account on December 2, 2016 . The Thai authori es considered the ar cle to be offensive because its content did not refer to the Thai King in a posi ve way. The person who filed a complaint to the police at Khon Kaen police sta on was Lt. Col. Pitakpol Choosri, a military officer who is the head of the Na onal Council for Peace and Order’s (NCPO) peace-keeping force in Khon Kaen province. It is believed that personal animosity exists between Jatupat and Lt. Col. Pitakpol because of Jatupat’s ac vism as a member of a Khon Kaen-based an -junta student ac vist group called “Dao Din”. Jatupat’s acts have included flashing the three-finger “Hunger Games” salute during a visit of General Prayuth Chan-o-cha, Thailand’s Prime Minister, in Khon Kaen in November 2014; holding a banner which said “Against the Coup” on the first anniversary of the coup d’etat in Thailand; and distribu ng materials cri cizing the dra cons tu on in August 2016 in Chaiyaphum Province. Jatupat was arrested (h p://www.khaosodenglish.com/poli cs/2016/12/03/ac vist-pai-dao-din-arrested-lese-majeste/) on December 3, 2016 while he was at a religious event at a temple in Chaiyaphum. A photo of the arrest warrant dated December 2 posted (h ps://www.facebook.com/photo.php? id=1166938033382581&set=a.942884362454617.1073741829.100001991862964&type=3&theater) by his father, Viboon Boonpa araraksa, on social media showed that he had been charged with commi ng lese-majeste (offending or insul ng the royal family), an offense proscribed under Ar cle 112 of the Thai Criminal Code. Lese-majeste, is a serious crime in Thailand with a prison term of up to 15 years. https://globalfreedomofexpression.columbia.edu/cases/public-prosecutor-v-jatupat-boonpattararaksa-aka-pai-dao-din/ 2/4