Posted: 08 May 2012 1745 hrs
BANGKOK: A Thai grandfather who became a symbol of a budding free speech movement after he was jailed for defaming the monarchy has died in prison, his lawyer said on Tuesday, fanning controversy over the harsh law.
Ampon Tangnoppakul, 62, was convicted by the Bangkok criminal court in November of sending text messages deemed insulting to the royal family to the private secretary of then-prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva in May 2010.
The European Union said at the time it was "deeply concerned" by the 20-year sentence handed down to Ampon, who was considered a "prisoner of conscience" by Amnesty International.
"His wife called me this morning and told me that he has passed away in prison," Ampon's lawyer Anon Numpa told AFP, adding that his client had been hoping for a royal pardon.
The cause of death was still being investigated, according to a doctor at the Corrections Department hospital where Ampon's body was taken from the Bangkok Remand Prison.
"His medical record showed that he used to have mouth cancer and currently his stomach was swollen which is under investigation," he said. "A witness said last night he was fine but this morning he wasn't moving and was already dead."
Ampon, who became known in Thailand as "Uncle SMS", pleaded not guilty during his trial, saying he did not send the messages.
His case was one in a series under the kingdom's strict lese majeste legislation, which critics say is used to stifle free speech.
"He had come to represent the enormous degree of injustice that is this lese majeste law and yet he wanted nothing more than to be a grandfather and to enjoy his old age," Amnesty researcher Benjamin Zawacki told AFP.
He repeatedly asked for bail but the court rejected it on the grounds that he was convicted of a serious crime and could skip bail. If he had been freed he could have visited doctors in time and might not have died.
BANGKOK: A Thai grandfather who became a symbol of a budding free speech movement after he was jailed for defaming the monarchy has died in prison, his lawyer said on Tuesday, fanning controversy over the harsh law.
Ampon Tangnoppakul, 62, was convicted by the Bangkok criminal court in November of sending text messages deemed insulting to the royal family to the private secretary of then-prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva in May 2010.
The European Union said at the time it was "deeply concerned" by the 20-year sentence handed down to Ampon, who was considered a "prisoner of conscience" by Amnesty International.
"His wife called me this morning and told me that he has passed away in prison," Ampon's lawyer Anon Numpa told AFP, adding that his client had been hoping for a royal pardon.
The cause of death was still being investigated, according to a doctor at the Corrections Department hospital where Ampon's body was taken from the Bangkok Remand Prison.
"His medical record showed that he used to have mouth cancer and currently his stomach was swollen which is under investigation," he said. "A witness said last night he was fine but this morning he wasn't moving and was already dead."
Ampon, who became known in Thailand as "Uncle SMS", pleaded not guilty during his trial, saying he did not send the messages.
His case was one in a series under the kingdom's strict lese majeste legislation, which critics say is used to stifle free speech.
"He had come to represent the enormous degree of injustice that is this lese majeste law and yet he wanted nothing more than to be a grandfather and to enjoy his old age," Amnesty researcher Benjamin Zawacki told AFP.
He repeatedly asked for bail but the court rejected it on the grounds that he was convicted of a serious crime and could skip bail. If he had been freed he could have visited doctors in time and might not have died.
