Student-led pro-democracy demonstrations starting in 2020 had sought to bring changes to the lese majeste law, but protesters found themselves targets of prosecution under the same statute.
Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, a law advocacy group, says that more than 290 people, many of them student activists, have been charged with violating Article 112 since early 2020.
The state attorney general’s office, the plaintiff in the case, said in a press release that it is considering whether to appeal.
Thanathorn co-founded the now-disbanded Future Forward Party, which became a major political force after finishing third in the 2019 general election, just a year after it was established. It was especially critical of the military, a pillar of the country’s establishment with major influence over the government.
Thanathorn was forced out of Parliament in 2020 when a court ruled that he had broken an election law by previously owning shares in a media company. Future Forward was dissolved by the Constitutional Court the same year on charges of violating election laws on donations to political parties.
The party’s successor, Move Forward Party, won the most seats after the 2023 general election, a major win for the progressive movement after nearly a decade under military-backed rule, but conservative lawmakers blocked the party from forming a government.
It was disbanded by a court order in 2024 after it was accused of violating the constitution by proposing an amendment of the law against defaming the royal family.
Its latest incarnation, the People’s Party, came in second in the 2026 election and is now the main opposition party.
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