Where insulting royalty will put you in jail
An editor was last month sentenced to 11 years in prison, for “defaming” the country’s king. Geoffrey Cain reports on how Thailand’s lèse majesté laws have chilled free speech
Thailand: “Uncle SMS” dies during 20-year jail term for insulting monarchy
A Thai man in his 60s who became known as “Uncle SMS” after he was convicted of defaming Thailand’s royal family in text messages has died while serving his 20-year prison term. Amphon Tangnoppakul, whose cause of death was unknown, was arrested in August 2010 and accused of sending four text messages to a government official that were deemed offensive to the queen. He denied sending them, claiming he did not know how to do so. He was convicted of defaming the Thai monarchy last November.