{"id":48976,"date":"2026-04-24T12:04:36","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T12:04:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=48976"},"modified":"2026-04-24T12:04:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T12:04:36","slug":"thai-court-to-try-44-opposition-figures-over-bid-to-amend-royal-insult-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=48976","title":{"rendered":"Thai court to try 44 opposition figures over bid to amend royal insult law"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>Thailand\u2019s Supreme Court said on Friday that 44 current and former opposition lawmakers will go on trial over an attempt to amend a law that protects the monarchy from criticism, in another blow to the country\u2019s progressive movement.<\/p>\n<p>The 44, including members of the People\u2019s Party and its disbanded predecessor Move Forward, will face trial from June 30 for alleged ethics violations. If found guilty, they could face the maximum penalty of a lifetime ban from office.<\/p>\n<p>Hundreds of people have been prosecuted in recent years under Thailand\u2019s lese-majeste law, one of the strictest of its kind, with penalties of up to 15 years in prison.<\/p>\n<p>Also Read: Thailand vows to keep fighting Cambodia after Trump ceasefire claim<\/p>\n<p>Amid massive youth-led, anti-government protests calling for reform of the monarchy, Move Forward in 2021 sought to amend the law in parliament, arguing it had been misused to stifle political opponents.<\/p>\n<p>Thailand\u2019s constitution enshrines the king in a position of \u201crevered worship\u201d, and royalists regard the monarchy as sacrosanct.<\/p>\n<p>The liberal agenda of the People\u2019s Party and its predecessors has put the movement at odds with Thailand\u2019s conservative establishment, with multiple court rulings against it, including two party dissolutions.<\/p>\n<p>Party vows to fight<\/p>\n<p>Those facing trial include People\u2019s Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, four deputy leaders, and former Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat, who is currently serving a 10-year ban from politics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will pursue our legal fight in the Supreme Court to the fullest extent, in order to defend the legitimacy of the representative mandate in a parliamentary democracy,\u201d Natthaphong told a press conference.<\/p>\n<p>The progressive movement\u2019s popularity among young and urban voters helped Move Forward win the 2023 general election, but it was blocked from forming a government by lawmakers aligned with the royalist military.<\/p>\n<p>Read More: Thailand confirms civilian killing<\/p>\n<p>In 2024, a court ruled that Move Forward\u2019s attempt to reform the royal insult law was unconstitutional and undermined the democratic system. The party was subsequently dissolved and its top leaders banned, but members regrouped days later as the People\u2019s Party.<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court case stems from a petition filed by Thailand\u2019s National Anti-Corruption Commission, which has a broad investigative mandate beyond corruption cases. The court said serving lawmakers among the 44 would not be suspended during the trial.<\/p>\n<p>Despite leading opinion polls, the People\u2019s Party finished as a surprise runner-up in February\u2019s general election to Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul\u2019s Bhumjaithai Party.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thailand\u2019s Supreme Court said on Friday that 44 current and former opposition lawmakers will go on trial over an attempt to amend a law that protects the monarchy from criticism, in another blow to the country\u2019s progressive movement. The 44, including members of the People\u2019s Party and its disbanded predecessor Move Forward, will face trial [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48976\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}