Thais split by fierce royal insult law debate | My Sinchew
Abused in the street and shunned by her family, a Thai teenager will answer a police summons this week over claims she insulted the revered monarchy amid vehement debate about the kingdom's lese majeste law. Abhinya Sawatvarakorn, 19, who faces possible arrest Saturday after being accused of making critical comments on Facebook two years ago, is the latest symbol of the ferocity of feeling around the issue in the deeply divided nation.
Known by her internet alias Kanthoop, the teenager says she has been the victim of a witch hunt that has seen her barred from several universities and publicly vilified.
[...]Lese majeste, or article 112 of the Thai criminal code, is designed to protect senior royals from insult, but academics say it has been politicised in recent years.
Many of those charged have been linked to the "Red Shirt" movement, supporters of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and other critics of the previous establishment-backed government.
The number of people charged with the offence has surged since Thaksin was deposed in a 2006 coup, making the law itself increasingly the subject of debate -- even though powerful figures such as the army chief have suggested dissenters should leave the country.
David Streckfuss, an independent academic and expert on lese majeste, said the current public attention to the issue would have been "absolutely unimaginable" last year.
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The royal family is an extremely sensitive subject in Thailand, with 84-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej revered as a demi-god by many.
There were 122 lese majeste cases sent for prosecution from January to October 2011, which Streckfuss said was in line with the level seen in 2009.
But in 2010, when the country was rocked by deadly anti-government protests by the Red Shirts, there was a spike of 478 cases.
Thai academic Thitinan Pongsudhirak said the measure had left the country gripped by a "climate of fear" and warned reformists can become "radicalised" when debate is shut down.
