Public figures must be able to take criticism otherwise they should stay at home and raise grandchildren, said Thammasat law lecturer Sawatree Suksri.

“If the ones [who are criticised] sweat the small stuff, they probably are not suited to initiate policies to run the country,” she said.

Sawatree was speaking yesterday during an event called “Lor [mock] Free Day Say Freedom” arranged by anti-coup activist group New Democracy Movement at Thammasat University’s Tha Phra Chan campus.

The event was held in reaction to the arrest of eight activists, who have been accused of sedition and computer-crime offences for running a Facebook page that poked fun at Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Two of the eight have also been charged with lese majeste, a crime that carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison.

If the country has democracy, people would have the right to criticise the government without violating Article 116 of the Penal Code, she said.

Activist Rangsiman Rome said it was time the country was told how many people who criticised Prayut had been charged with sedition and for allegedly violating the lese majeste law.

People can criticise public figures and those who mock the leaders should not be charged with serious crimes, said Rangsiman.

‘PM is just an individual’

He said people who mocked the PM had been deemed threats to the state, but that was not right as the PM was not the country – just an individual.

“Other former PMs were also criticised. So why do people who mock Prayut end up in jails with severe charges?” asked Rangsiman.

“They just criticised the PM; after that serious charges, including lese majeste, were pressed against them.”

People criticising the PM should at the most be charged with defamation, he said.

Red-shirt activist Sombat Boonngamanong said that the charges against those who mocked the PM were not in line with international standard because the cases were being tried by the military court instead of the criminal court as the normal practice.

If the cases were brought to the criminal court, they would have been dropped, said the activist.

At the event, the nicknames of former PMs were displayed to show people that leaders could be criticised without being charged with an offence.

Some former PMs, who were mocked, were exhibited: Thaksin Shinawatra was dubbed “square face”; Banharn Silpa-archa was dubbed “slippery eel”, and Chuan Leekpai was dubbed “Chuan Chueng Cha” (slow Chuan).