Thai opposition hit by fresh legal challenge as activists seek life bans

Activists in Thailand filed a petition on Friday seeking life bans for dozens of lawmakers of the Move Forward party, the latest in a series of moves to stifle a popular opposition that tried to review a tough law against insulting the monarchy.
Complaints were submitted to the anti-graft commission to ban 44 Move Forward politicians for life, alleging serious breaches of ethics in backing a once unthinkable plan to amend one of the world’s strictest lese majeste laws.
The Constitutional Court on Wednesday ruled Move Forward must abandon its proposal to review article 112 of the criminal code, which carries jail terms of up to 15 years, saying it seriously undermined the monarchy.
Thailand’s constitution enshrines the king in a position of “revered worship” and royalists regard the palace as sacrosanct.
Move Forward won last year’s election on a wave of youth and urban support for a progressive platform that included undoing business monopolies and curbing the military’s entrenched political influence.