Yearbook 2016
 Thailand.
According to
countryaah, the current population of Thailand is 69,799,989.
The number of prosecutions and lawsuits against people who
have committed crimes against Thailand's hard data and
majesty laws has increased since the military coup in May
2014. The charges have been thinned out, while the
punishment was reported to have been more severe.
In January, a 46-year-old man was sentenced in civil
court to six years in prison for insulting King Bhumibol
Adulyadej on Facebook. An even harsher sentence was given to
a 48-year-old man last year, when he was sentenced in
military court to 30 years in prison for six posts on
Facebook. According to the civil rights organization Amnesty
International, restrictions on freedom of assembly and
expression in the country remained and were reinforced,
despite the fact that the military promised that they would
be temporary.
In January, a document leaked to the media, revealing
that the military wanted network companies like Google and
Facebook to remove content that the military deemed harmful
without court decisions. The military government is also
said to have offered tax relief on the advertising revenue
that companies receive in Thailand, provided that "illegal"
content was removed.
A joint report by several human rights organizations in
the spring stated that the conflict between government
forces and Muslim separatist groups in Thailand's southern
provinces had worsened since 2014. The report found that
Thai police and military used mental and physical torture
such as abuse and death threats against arrested
separatists.
In August, a referendum was held on a new draft
constitution drawn up by a council appointed by the
military. Before the election, all criticism was banned and
the no side was refused to carry out its campaign work. The
vote resulted in 61.4% voting yes to the new constitution
and 38.7% voting no. 59% of the country's voters
participated in the election, which is said to have been a
disappointment for the military government, which had hoped
for 80%. The new constitution meant that members of the
Senate would be increased to 250, all of whom would be
appointed by the military. The Senate would retain its right
to veto the bill passed by the National Assembly.
Furthermore, the prospective head of government would not be
elected, but be appointed by the Senate together with the
National Assembly.
A few days after the referendum, a total of eleven
smaller bombs exploded in five different provinces in
Thailand, including in tourist-tight areas such as Phuket
and Hua Hin. The bombs, which detonated between 11 and 12
August, killed four people. Just over three months later,
three suspected men from southern Thailand were arrested,
where a conflict between Muslim separatists and government
forces has been going on for a long time.
In October, the former Prime Minister Yingluck
Shinawatra, deposed in the 2014 coup, was fined by the
military government for fraud in connection with the rice
subsidy program during Shinawatra's time in power. The fine
was 35 billion baht, which corresponded to almost SEK 9
billion.
On October 13, however, the country's 88-year-old King
Bhumibol Adulyadej. King Bhumibol, or Rama IX, was King of
Thailand for 70 years. Despite the country's harsh laws of
majesty, Bhumibol was loved and respected by a majority of
the population, with many regarded him as a godly person
after Buddha. After the King's death, Prime Minister Prayuth
Chan-ocha announced a year of official grief and the
country's residents were asked to abstain from entertainment
and festivities for 30 days.
Fifty days after Bhumibol's death, December 1, his only
son Maha Vajiralongkorn took over the throne. The
64-year-old Vajiralongkorn, who was named King Rama X,
inherited Thailand's royal house, one of the world's richest
monarchies. Formally, he will be crowned only after his
father's cremation, which is expected to happen in 2017.
Vajiralong barley is far from as popular in Thailand as his
father. In foreign media he has been described as a playboy
with seven children and three marriages behind him.
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