The Supreme Court has denied bail for an activist charged with royal defamation for wearing a shirt with the message “I have lost faith in the monarchy,” and sentenced him to six years in prison.

Tiwagorn Withiton, a 48-year-old pro-democracy activist, was charged with royal defamation, sedition, and violation of the Computer Crimes Act for posting messages in February 2020. The posts called on the monarchy to stop using the royal defamation law and demanded the release of political detainees, and he also posted a picture of himself wearing a white t-shirt with the message “I have lost faith in the monarchy.”

According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), after posting the picture, Tiwagorn revealed that he was visited by a dozen plainclothes officers from the Internal Security Operation Command. He said they asked him not to wear the shirt, repeatedly asserting that it would cause chaos within the country.

On the following month, he was arrested and forcibly admitted to Khon Kaen Rajanagarindra Psychiatric Hospital, He was discharged on 22 July 2020 after a public campaign calling for his release. He was arrested again on 4 March 2021 and taken to Tha Phra Police Station in Khon Kaen and charged for the Facebook posts he made.

In September 2022, the Khon Kaen Provincial Court dismissed charges against Tiwagorn because the evidence did not prove that the defendant intended to defame or express hostility to the monarchy.

However, the Appeal Court overturned the acquittal, ruling that he intended to defame the King by posting a picture of himself wearing the shirt and inviting people to buy the shirt, and because people were leaving comments on his posts which were defamatory against the King.

The Appeal Court found Tiwagorn guilty of royal defamation and violation of the Computer Crimes Act and sentenced him to nine years in prison (three years for each offence). The sentence was reduced to six years due to his useful testimony. However, it found him not guilty of sedition because there was no evidence that he was trying to incite people to violate the law.

On 24 September, TLHR reported that Tiwagorn’s lawyer had filed a bail request with the Supreme Court with 500,000 baht as security, arguing that the Region 3 Appeal Court had granted two activists in the previous case bail and Tiwagorn has elderly parents to take care of.

The Supreme Court upheld the Appeal Court’s verdict, saying there was no reason to change the initial ruling. Tiwagorn has been detained at the Khon Kaen Special Correctional Institution for 43 days since the Appeal Court sentenced him to prison.