A Thai court today sentenced the leader of the 'red shirt' opposition movement to two years in jail for defaming a former prime minister in his speeches in 2009 in which he had accused the premier of ordering the killing of protesters.
The ruling came just a few days after ousted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, whose government was backed by the red shirts before last year's military coup in May, was banned from politics for five years.
The Criminal Court found Jatuporn Prompan, chairman of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), or red shirt group, guilty of defaming former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva in two speeches in October 2009.
The court considered that Jatuporn's speech on October 11, 2009 and on October 17 of the same year against Abhisit were not true and could thus be considered as defamatory.
The court upheld a lawsuit filed by Abhisit who said Jatuporn, a former Pheu Thai party member of parliament, made defamatory remarks about him in his speeches.
In his speeches, Jatuporn had accused Abhisit of ordering the killing of the people and obstructing the submission of a petition to the King seeking a royal pardon for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Bangkok Post said.
Abhisit's government had faced major protests in April 2009. The military's crackdowns on protesters had claimed the lives of many people.
The court found Jatuporn guilty of defamation and sentenced him to one year imprisonment on each charge, two years in total without suspension.
His lawyer said he would apply for bail for his client.
