Thai Supreme Court Accepts Ethics Case Against 44 Former Move Forward Lawmakers over Lese‑Majesté Bill

Thailand’s Supreme Court has accepted an ethics case against 44 former lawmakers from the dissolved Move Forward Party over their support for a bill to amend the country’s strict lese-majeste law, a move that could ultimately strip them of political rights and lead to long-term or lifetime bans from office.

The case, accepted Friday by the Supreme Court Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Position, reaches beyond former legislators. The group includes 10 current members of Parliament from Move Forward’s successor, the People’s Party, among them party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut. Thai Rath reported that the court did not suspend the sitting MPs from their duties at this stage.

The petition was filed by Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission, or NACC, which in February found grounds to accuse the 44 of serious ethical violations and sent the case to the court on April 9, according to Thai media reports. The agency argues that by sponsoring a bill to amend Section 112 of the penal code, the lawmakers “failed to uphold and maintain the democratic system of government with the King as Head of State,” as described in Thai court reporting and by Human Rights Watch. Thai media reported that the NACC is seeking penalties that could include removal from office, loss of voting rights and a lifetime ban from holding political office if the respondents are found guilty. Thai Rath said the first hearing is scheduled for June 30.

The case is not a standard criminal prosecution under Section 112, the lese-majeste law itself. Instead, it is an ethics and political disqualification case stemming from the lawmakers’ effort to change that law.

Section 112 criminalizes “defaming, insulting, or threatening” the king, queen, heir-apparent or regent. Each offense carries a prison sentence of three to 15 years. The law has long been one of Thailand’s most politically sensitive issues, and efforts to amend it have drawn sharp legal and institutional backlash.

That backlash intensified in 2024. In January of that year, Thailand’s Constitutional Court ruled that campaigning to amend Section 112 amounted to an attempt to undermine the constitutional system with the king as head of state. In August 2024, the same court dissolved Move Forward, then the country’s leading opposition party, and imposed 10-year political bans on its executives.

The new case expands that legal campaign beyond party executives to a broader group of former Move Forward lawmakers, including current opposition MPs now serving under the People’s Party banner. It also deepens pressure on a party movement that built much of its support on calls for military reform, democratic change and revision of laws seen by critics as tools to silence dissent.

Human Rights Watch said the court action marks a further escalation in Thailand’s suppression of opposition voices. “By prosecuting these opposition politicians, Thai authorities are sending a chilling message that the country’s abusive ‘insulting the monarchy’ law has become as sacrosanct as the monarchy it’s meant to protect,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “This politically motivated case is yet another blow to Thailand’s teetering efforts to restore respect for human rights and democratic rule.”

The rights group said Thai authorities have prosecuted at least 1,997 people since the 2014 military coup for exercising rights to free expression and peaceful assembly, including at least 291 on lese-majeste charges.

For now, the Supreme Court has only accepted the case for consideration. The 44 politicians have not been sanctioned, and the 10 sitting MPs named in the petition remain in office as the case moves toward its first hearing in June.