Thailand’s Supreme Court has accepted a petition to try 44 current and former opposition lawmakers for alleged ethics violations tied to a 2021 effort to amend the country’s royal defamation law. The trial is scheduled to begin on June 30. Those named include members of the progressive People’s Party and its predecessor, the Move Forward Party.
If convicted, the lawmakers could face lifetime bans from holding public office. The court said it will not suspend the 10 serving lawmakers included in the case. Among them are People’s Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut and deputy leader Sirikanya Tansakul, both of whom will face the charges while remaining in office.
The case centers on Thailand’s lese‑majesté statute, Section 112, a law in place for about a century that criminalizes insulting or defaming the king and members of the royal family. Convictions under Section 112 can carry prison terms of up to 15 years per offence. The monarchy remains broadly respected in Thailand, while critics argue the law has been used to stifle dissent and silence political opponents.
Political context: the liberal Move Forward Party, which won the 2023 elections, was blocked from forming a government and was dissolved in 2024 after campaigning to amend the lese‑majesté law. Authorities accused the party of undermining Thailand’s constitutional system, in which the king is head of state. Separately, in August 2025 a Thai court cleared former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra of lese‑majesté charges that had previously exposed him to possible prison time.