BANGKOK
Days after six men were arrested for plotting to overthrow the Thai monarchy, a young musician has been detained for posting a fake statement on his Facebook page claiming the country's ailing king had appointed a regent, and thus implicitly a successor - long a contentious subject in the Kingdom.
Krit Butradeejin, a 25-year-old from Petchabun province in northeast Thailand, was named Thursday as a member of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) - one of hundreds of thousands of "Red Shirt" supporters of the deposed Shinawatra clan, long at odds with the conservative establishment.
Post Today said that Jatuporn Prompan, chairman of the UDD, had assigned a lawyer to provide legal assistance to Butradeejin.
Khaosod online website has reported that the Facebook post indicated that King Bhumibol Adjulyadej had appointed a regent. It did not give any other details because of the country's stringent lèse-majesté law, which sentences anyone who defames or criticizes the king, the queen or heir apparent to a jail term of up to 15 years.
The appointment of an heir is an extremely controversial issue in the country as Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, 61, is expected to ascend to the throne as the next monarch, although his younger sister, Princess Sirindhorn, holds the title Crown Princess.
The popularity of the prince - a fighter jet pilot - does not match the daunting aura of his father, whose reign -- which began in 1946 -- is the longest of the current Chakri Dynasty.
Junta spokesman Colonel Winthai Suwaree told a press conference Thursday that Butradeejin had been identified as “among the first” to share the forged statement on Facebook.
He added that he will be interrogated for seven days, as allowed by martial law imposed across the country since the army's May 22 coup that unseated the Yingluck Shinawatra government.
“Since the case is sensitive and affects the morale of the people, the authorities need to handle it carefully and take time to investigate thoroughly, in order to establish the facts,” he added.
Butradeejin has admitted sharing the post but denied having anything to do with its content. He said he received it from another "Red Shirt" friend.
Military and police officers are now trying to identify the statement's origins.
On Monday, Thai police arrested six people for membership in the "Banpodj Thailand network," which authorities have said plots to overthrow the monarchy.
The network is renowned among "Red Shirts" for comment critical of the country's military junta and the rival Democrat Party.
Critics of Thailand's lese-majeste law say that it is often also used to clamp down on free speech and undermine anyone seen to be critical of the establishment while maintaining their grip on power.
Since the May 22 coup, the National Council for Peace and Order (the junta's official name) has abrogated the constitution and the senate, and banned all opposition and criticism of the its orders.
Yingluck Shinawatra was banned from politics for five years last month on the back of a failed rice subsidies scheme. Many analysts see the ban as a way of keeping the Shinawatra clan away from elections that they, or affiliates, have won for the past decade.
