Thai man sentenced to 20 years in prison for anti-royal texts
A Thai court on Wednesday sentenced a man to 20 years in prison for sending text messages deemed insulting to the monarchy, his lawyer said, AFP reported.
Ampon Tangnoppakul, 61, was found guilty of four counts of sending messages to the private secretary of then-prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva in May 2010, according to the criminal court in Bangkok.
After his arrest, Thailand's Central Bureau of Investigation said the messages were "inappropriate and considered insulting to the monarchy and have upset the recipients," without revealing their content.
Under Thai law, anyone convicted of insulting the king, queen, heir or regent faces up to 15 years in prison on each count.