Thai student activist flees to avoid lese majeste charge

BANGKOK – A student activist says in a Facebook post she fled Thailand after learning she had been charged with insulting the monarchy because she shared a BBC article about the country's new king.

Lese majeste, or insulting the monarchy, is punishable by three to 15 years in prison per incident, and the case against Chanoknan Ruamsap is apparently the first filed this year. Lese majeste cases have increased markedly under the military government that has been in power since 2014. Critics say the law is used to punish political dissidents.

Another prominent student activist, Jatupat Boonpattaraksa, was sentenced to 2 ½ years in prison for sharing the same article posted online by the BBC's Thai-language service.

Chanoknan did not say where she is staying now.