Man Sentenced to 50 Years in Prison for What He Wrote About Monarchy on Facebook
The First Amendment guarantees Americans the right to free expression without fear of prosecution, stating, “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech …”
This free speech tradition protects even offensive or distasteful commentary about elected politicians and government leaders — let alone unelected monarchs. While certain limitations apply to speech posing an imminent danger, Americans have a long legal tradition of cases defending the right to engage in political dissent and criticism of authority figures.
But not every nation has the freedom we do.
An appeals court in Thailand last week handed down an unprecedented 50-year prison sentence to a man convicted of violating the country’s strict laws that criminalize insulting the country’s centuries-old monarchy,
