--- description: A single mother was sentenced to seven years on Tuesday for supposedly "insulting" Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej in a Facebook post. title: Single Mother Gets 7 Years in Jail for 'Insulting' Thai King image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfefe7d36922dc110/698875cabc6cfc7f9f3dae3c/164287155.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Thailand](/tag/thailand/) ## Thailand Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A Woman Has Been Sentenced to 7 Years for 'Insulting' the Thai King on Facebook by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 17, 2015 4:30 AM CUT  King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, right, meets with Prince Philippe of Belgium, left, on March 22, 2013, in Bangkok King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, right, meets with Prince Philippe of Belgium, left, on March 22, 2013, in BangkokDidier Lebrun—Photonews/Getty Images by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 17, 2015 4:30 AM CUT A Thai woman was sentenced to [seven years in prison](http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/crime/796496/single-mother-jailed-7-years-for-facebook-post "undefined") on sedition and lèse majesté charges on Tuesday for supposedly “insulting” Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej in a Facebook post, according to the _Bangkok Post_. Identified only as Chayapha, the single mother of a 14-year-old, was initially arrested and charged with sedition in June for writing that [“a countercoup against the junta was imminent,”](http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/crime/796496/single-mother-jailed-7-years-for-facebook-post "undefined") the _Post_ said. A lawyer for the defendant was not present at the sentencing. Thailand’s strict lèse majesté laws prohibit insulting the royal family and King, who is the [longest-reigning monarch](http://time.com/4068781/thailand-king-bhumibol/ "undefined") in the world. Since the army seized power in a coup in 2014, however, the law has often been used to stifle dissent or settle political scores and arrests and prosecutions under it have climbed. Most recently, a man was arrested for [insulting the King’s dog](http://time.com/4148911/thailand-bhumibol-tongdaeng-lese-majeste/ "undefined"). He could face up to 37 years in prison. \[[_Bangkok Post_](http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/crime/796496/single-mother-jailed-7-years-for-facebook-post "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4152981/thai-woman-jailed-lese-majeste/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4152981/thai-woman-jailed-lese-majeste/"},"headline":"A Woman Has Been Sentenced to 7 Years for 'Insulting' the Thai King on Facebook","datePublished":"2015-12-17T04:30:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T13:27:16.063Z","description":"Strict laws against insulting the monarch are being used by the ruling junta to stifle dissent","url":"https://time.com/4152981/thai-woman-jailed-lese-majeste/","keywords":["Thailand","Bangkok","Human Rights","King Bhumibol Adulyadej"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfefe7d36922dc110/698875cabc6cfc7f9f3dae3c/164287155.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joanna Plucinska","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joanna-plucinska/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfefe7d36922dc110/698875cabc6cfc7f9f3dae3c/164287155.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Prince Philippe And Princess Mathilde of Belgium Visit Thailand","caption":"Prince Philippe And Princess Mathilde of Belgium Visit Thailand","creditText":"Didier Lebrun—Photonews/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/thailand/","name":"Thailand"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4152981/thai-woman-jailed-lese-majeste/","name":"A Woman Has Been Sentenced to 7 Years for 'Insulting' the Thai King on Facebook"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: Thai Man Faces 37 Years in Jail for Mocking King’s Dog","description":"A Thai man faces up to 37 years in prison for mocking the king’s dog on social media","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/IaWldDAK/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-12-15T14:47:01.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/IaWldDAK.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4152981/thai-woman-jailed-lese-majeste/","duration":"PT1M1S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4152981/thai-woman-jailed-lese-majeste/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```