BANGKOK, Sept 26 -- The Criminal Court on Wednesday ruled that Sondhi Limthongkul, a key leader of Thailand's yellow-clad People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), was not guilty of lese majeste, saying he had no intention to insult the monarchy when he quoted comments by an activist of a rival group.
Mr Sondhi was prosecuted for the lese majeste charge after restating comments by Red Shirt activist Daranee Charnchoengsilpakul criticising the monarchy as he was on the PAD stage at Makkhawan Bridge on July 20, 2008.
He quoted Ms Daranee's remarks to support his demand for law enforcement agencies to prosecute her for anti-monarchist activities.
Ms Daranee, commonly known as "Da Torpedo", was sentenced to an 18-year-jail term for making speeches deemed insulting to the monarchy during the Red Shirt rallies in 2008.
The Criminal Court said that Mr Sondhi had only selected parts of Ms Daranee's speech and summarised them for his supporters at a PAD rally to call for legal action against her.
The court ruled that Mr Sondhi had no intention of violating the criminal law in his 2008 comments and dismissed the charge.
Mr Sondhi told the reporters after the court ruling that there was an attempt to put him in jail by any means. He also thanks the judges for making decision based on truth and facts.
The media mogul who is facing dozens of legal cases said that he would not escape to anywhere and is ready to be imprisoned if the court sentenced him to jail in any cases he still faces. (MCOT online news)
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