People's Party MP sues those who falsely accused him of lèse-majesté

People's Party MP Piyarat Chongthep today filed criminal complaints against a group of civilians and state officials, accusing them of fabricating evidence that was used to prosecute him in a subsequently dismissed lèse-majesté case.

Accompanied by his lawyer, Piyarat submitted social media posts and other evidence to support his allegations against those allegedly involved in creating and using false evidence.

Piyarat said the case stemmed from events in October 2020, when a group identifying itself as royalist supporters filed a complaint accusing him of taking photographs at Sanam Luang and posting messages deemed to violate Section 112 of the Criminal Code, Thailand's lèse-majesté law.

He said the Criminal Court dismissed the case on Aug. 27, 2025, after finding the plaintiff's evidence unreliable.

The MP maintained that he had never posted the messages on the Facebook page cited by the plaintiffs. At the time the alleged posts were made, he said, he was in police custody in another case and therefore had no access to communication devices, making it impossible for him to publish the content.

Piyarat said he decided to file the complaints after learning that the plaintiffs were attempting to appeal the court's dismissal of the case.

He said those named in the complaints are divided into two groups. The first group consists of civilians claiming to be royalists. They are accused of filing false complaints, fabricating evidence, forging documents and using forged documents.

The second group comprises state officials, including investigators from the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD), whom Piyarat alleged accepted the disputed documents, used them to press charges against him and forwarded the case to prosecutors.

He said legal action would be pursued against each individual separately. In addition to the charges filed against the civilians, the state officials will also face allegations under Section 157 of the Criminal Code for malfeasance in office. Those cases will be filed with the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases.

The court has scheduled a preliminary hearing on the complaints for October 19.

Piyarat has been active in the anti-government movement and took part in the youth-led protests that began in 2020, advocating for political reform and greater civil liberties.