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10 years for insulting Thai royals

BANGKOK, April 3 (UPI) -- A Thai court has sentenced a man to 10 years in prison after he posted doctored images on the Internet that were deemed insulting to the royal family.

Suwicha Thakhor, 34, was prosecuted under the country's harsh "lese majeste" law, which prohibits insulting the royal family, Britain's The Daily Telegraph reported Friday.

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"The suspect committed a serious crime and deserves the most severe punishment," the court's verdict read. "Therefore the court sentences the suspect to 20 years in jail but as he has confessed the charges the sentence is reduced to 10 years."

Analysts said the maximum punishment under the lese majeste law is only 12 years imprisonment, implying that Thakhor was also prosecuted under the Computer Crime Act or other laws.

Government sources said 4,800 Web sites, most of which were determined to be insulting to the monarchy, have been blocked by authorities during the past year. Thailand's current government came to power last year after protests with the queen's backing were held in support of the monarchy.

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