THE Thai Prime Minister has denied the government is using the country's strict "lese majeste" law to silence its critics.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan o cha said this was never the intention of the government, in reference to the lese majeste case filed against the leader of the Progressive Movement, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, over his comments about the government's Covid-19 vaccination programme.
Thailand has one of the harshest royal defamation laws in the world. The law is routinely interpreted to include any criticism of the monarchy – including content posted or shared on social media.
Under Section 112 of Thailand's penal code, anyone convicted of defaming, insulting or threatening the King, Queen or their heir, faces between three and 15 years in prison on each count.
The latest lese majeste complaint came after Thanathorn spoke in a Facebook Live session recently on the topic - "Royal Vaccine: Who Benefits and Who Doesn't?"
He is said to have criticised the government for being too reliant on Siam Bioscience to supply Covid-19 vaccines for domestic use.
According to a Bangkok Post report, the pharmaceutical company was founded by King Rama IX some 12 years ago, and it received a licence last year from AstraZeneca to produce its Covid-19 vaccines in Thailand.
During the FB live session, Thanathorn urged both the government and Siam Bioscience to publicly reveal the vaccine production agreements to prove that the procurement was being done in a transparent manner.
The government responded to this, saying there were 11 instances in Thanathorn's 30 minute speech that could be considered a violation of the lese majeste law, as well as the Computer Crimes Act.
After the complaint was filed, Thanathorn offered to apologise if his allegations proved to be incorrect.
He added that the details of the contract will be unveiled later in parliament, and the government has already appointed representatives to speak about the matter.
However, Gen Prayut has rebuffed Thanathorn's offer to apologise.
"I've never wanted to use Section 112 to silence or hurt anyone. If [Thanathorn] thinks he did nothing illegal, then he must fight for justice," he said.
"We don't want to see the Covid-19 vaccine politicised because the vaccine is a matter of life and death," he said after a meeting at the Defence Ministry on Monday.
Gen Prayut also defended the decision to award the contract to Siam Bioscience, saying there were other manufacturers which had offered to produce the jabs, but Siam Bioscience was selected because it met all of the government's criteria.
Last week, a former civil servant was handed a record prison term of 43 years and six months for breaching the lese majeste law.
She was found guilty on 29 counts of violating the law by posting audio clips to Facebook and YouTube with comments deemed critical of the monarchy.