Warunee (last name withheld), an online influencer charged with royal defamation, was released on Wednesday afternoon (27 November) after serving 1 year and 5 months of her prison sentence.
The 33-year-old was charged with royal defamation for posting a picture of King Vajiralongkorn changing the seasonal attire of the Emerald Buddha. The picture, which was edited to make it appear as if the Buddha was wearing a purple ball gown and sitting next to a Yorkshire terrier, was captioned “Emerald Buddha x Sirivannavari Bangkok” – a reference to a fashion brand belonging to the King’s daughter. Warunee was also charged with endangering national security by entering offensive data into a computer system in violation of Section 14 of the Computer Crimes Act, and insulting an object of religious veneration under Section 206 of the Criminal Code.
The complaint against Warunee was filed by Nopadol Prompasit, a member of the Thailand Help Centre for Cyberbullying Victims, an online royalist group whose members have filed lèse majesté charges against many netizens and activists, including Parit Chiwarak, Anon Nampa, and Panusaya Sithijirawattankul.
On 28 June 2023, Warunee was found guilty and sentenced to 3 years in prison. Her sentence was reduced to 1 year and 6 months because she confessed. She filed for bail several times, but all of her requests were denied. Around a month into her detention, Warunee went on a hunger strike for 46 days to protest the denial of bail. She has never been granted bail.
Warunee originally filed an appeal. However, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said that she requested that her appeal be withdrawn in April 2024. On 21 November, the Appeal Court approved of her request, making her eligible for early release under a Royal Pardon Decree issued in August 2024. She was released on Wednesday (27 November) after having served 1 year and 5 months in prison.
TLHR noted that Warunee was already eligible for early release when the Decree was issued in August, since by that time she had already served a third of her sentence, and if the Appeal Court had approved her withdrawal request sooner, she would have also been release earlier.
With Warunee’s release, 24 people remain in detention on royal defamation charges. Of this number, 15 are held in detention pending trial or appeal.