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A Thai man has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for Facebook posts deemed insulting to the royal family, media and human rights groups have said. The sentence is one of the harshest ever recorded in the kingdom for such an offense.
The man, identified as Vichai Thepwong, 34, pleaded guilty to 10 separate violations of Thai Criminal Code section 112, which states it is illegal to insult or defame members of the royal family, iLaw, a group that tracks royal defamation cases,
reported.
"The court punished him with seven years per count. Altogether he was given 70 years, but it was reduced in half because he confessed," said Yingcheep Atchanont from iLaw, as cited by AFP.
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