The leader of Thailand’s junta, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, has warned that anyone upsetting those still mourning the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej risks violent attack. According to the Bangkok Post, Prayuth, whose remarks were conveyed by a junta spokesman, said that “insensitive remarks” and behavior could prompt physical retribution. The general’s stark warning reflects the paranoia that persists in the country a week after the monarch’s passing. Five people have been arrested under lèse majesté laws since the King died last Thursday, according to the Bangkok Post, while a number of others have been attacked by ultra-royalist mobs, beaten or forced to publicly prostrate themselves before images of the late monarch. Despite evidence of mob-style justice being carried out in several towns across the country, there have been no reports of legal action taken against vigilantes. Thailand’s draconian lèse majesté legislation is meant to protect the monarchy from defamation, but in practice it is freely used by authorities to neutralize dissent.

 

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