BANGKOK—Thailand’s Court of Appeals on Friday affirmed a two-year prison sentence for a prominent antigovernment activist convicted of defaming the country’s prime minister in 2009.
The lawyer for Jatuporn Prompan said he was granted release on bail of 200,000 baht ($5,680) pending a further appeal to the Supreme Court. Lawyer Winyat Chatmontree said Jatuporn is not allowed to leave the country without court permission.
Jatuporn is a leader of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, also known as the Red Shirts, which supports former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a military coup in 2006. It opposes the current ruling junta and advocates voting against a draft constitution in an upcoming referendum.
The group also has plans to monitor the referendum for fraud. Some officials have suggested that such monitoring will not be allowed. The authorities have placed tight restrictions on public campaigning over the vote, which mostly handicaps opponents of the draft charter who charge it is undemocratic.
Jatuporn was found guilty on two counts of defaming then-Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva by saying he had ordered soldiers to kill protesters and interfered with a petition for a royal pardon for Thaksin, who was convicted of corruption in 2008 but avoided prison by fleeing the country.
Jatuporn earlier this month lost another defamation case over other remarks he made about Abhisit. The Supreme Court gave him a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years and a 50,000-baht ($1,400) fine.
There has been a sometimes-violent struggle for political power between supporters and opponents of Thaksin since he was ousted from power. Many legal cases against both sides remain unresolved.