110 charged with insulting king in one year of Thai protests

More than 100 protesters have been charged under Thailand's royal insult laws since last July, when rallies across the kingdom began demanding reforms to the unassailable monarchy, a lawyer representing the activists and an AFP tally showed yesterday. A mostly youth-led movement kicked off last summer, fuelled by discontent with the government of Thai Premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha, a former military chief who first came to power in a coup in 2014. A year since those rallies began, 110 protesters have been charged under lese majeste laws for their role in the movement, which called for Prayut to step down, a rewrite to the military-scripted constitution, and for royal reforms and at their peak drew tens of thousands to the streets. If found guilty, they face sentences of three to 15 years in jail per charge.