supreme court spares

Supreme Court Spares People’s Party Leader and 10 MPs from Suspension

ByJustpaste.in

BANGKOK — The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Officer Holders has spared 10 incumbent MPs of the People’s Party, including its leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, from suspension, while agreeing to consider a case filed by the Election Commission accusing them of gross ethical misconduct for endorsing a bill to amend Section 112 of the penal code, commonly known as the lèse majesté law.

Former People’s Party MP Sentenced to Prison for Draft Evasion

The court, however, issued a stern warning to the 10 MPs, prohibiting them from expressing opinions pertaining to the lèse majesté law and stating that it could review its decision if the prohibition is breached.

The Election Commission had called for the suspension of the 10 serving MPs from performing their parliamentary duties, but the court rejected the request on the grounds that there has been no behaviour suggesting that they have repeated or will commit an offence. The ruling allows Natthaphong and his nine colleagues to continue sitting in parliament while the case proceeds.

The case involves 44 former members of the now-defunct Move Forward Party, including its two former leaders, Pita Limjaroenrat and Chaithawat Tulathon, who have already been banished from politics by the Constitutional Court. Of the 44, only 10 are serving MPs of the People’s Party, Move Forward’s successor. The Election Commission has accused all 44 of gross ethical misconduct for their role in endorsing a bill to amend the lèse majesté law, an issue that has proven politically explosive and has already led to the dissolution of Move Forward and the political banishment of its leadership.

The 44 defendants have 14 days to challenge the court’s ruling. The first hearing in the case is set for June 30, with examination of evidence scheduled for August 4. For the 10 serving MPs, the court’s decision not to suspend them means they can continue their parliamentary work while the legal process unfolds, a significant victory for the People’s Party, which has been operating under the shadow of potential dissolution and mass disqualification.

Late on Thursday night, Natthaphong posted a message on his Facebook page, saying that he and the nine other serving MPs involved in the case will not stop performing their duties. He insisted that their signing of the bill to amend the lèse majesté law is within the rightful duties of an MP according to the Constitution. He added that, in the past ten years, members of the Move Forward Party and its successor, the People’s Party, have had no intention whatsoever to topple or undermine the democratic system with the King as head of state, as alleged by the Election Commission.

Natthaphong urged the public to consider with fairness the ethical standard in question, which he said has often been misused. He also argued that the accusation against the 44 did not stem from the fact that they supported amendments to the lèse majesté law, but from their vocal desire for changes in Thai society, and as such, they were deemed a threat to the powers-that-be.

People’s Party Leader Vows to Continue Pushing for Amendment of Lese-Majeste Law

The case represents the latest chapter in a long-running legal battle between Thailand’s progressive political movement and the conservative establishment. The Move Forward Party, which won the most seats in the 2023 general election, was blocked from forming a government and later dissolved by court order. Its successor, the People’s Party, now faces many of the same legal challenges, including the threat of dissolution and the disqualification of its MPs. For now, the Supreme Court’s decision to spare the 10 MPs from immediate suspension gives the party a breathing space. But the case remains active, and the prohibition on expressing opinions about the lèse majesté law hangs over them like a sword, ready to fall if they breach the court’s order. For Natthaphong and his colleagues, the fight for political survival is far from over.

-Thailand News (TN)

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