Akaradej, 24, is accused of using the Facebook username “Uncle Dom also loves the King” to post lèse majesté comments on the Facebook status of a friend. He is charged under Article 112 of the Criminal Code, or lèse majesté law, and Article 14 of the Computer Crime Act (for importing illegal content into a computer system.) 

 

The police arrested the undergraduate student in a raid on his dormitory at Mahanakorn University of Technology on 18 June 2014 and confiscated several electronic devices. He has been detained at the Bangkok Remand Prison since 20 June. The father of the defendant has submitted four bail requests. The court has never granted bail, citing flight risk. 

 

The case began after one of Akaradech’s Facebook friends, supposedly the owner of the Facebook status, filed a police complaint in March 2014. 

 

Surapon, father of the defendant, told Prachatai that his son had an online quarrel with that Facebook friend over different political ideologies.