Jatuporn, chairman of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, was found guilty of causing damage to Abhisit’s reputation when he accused him of ordering the “cold-blooded” killings of protesters in 2009.

The court granted Jatuporn’s request for temporary release on Bt200,000 bail, on the condition that he does not leave the country without court permission.

He is to appeal his case in the Supreme Court.

The Appeals Court rejected his request to suspend the penalty, ruling that his criticism of the former prime minister was not done constructively or for the benefit of the country.

The Appeals Court upheld the two-year imprisonment handed down on Jatuporn by the Criminal Court in January 2015.

Jatuporn’s lawyer Winyat Chartmontri said that in appealing to the Supreme Court, Jatuporn’s legal team would mention the defendant’s record of virtue in a request for mercy.

In 2009, Jatuporn made his accusation against Abhisit during red-shirt protests on October 11 at the Democracy Monument and on October 17 outside Government House.

Abhisit’s lawsuit said that Jatuporn wrongly accused him of issuing an order for soldiers to kill people and for obstructing the filing of a petition to His Majesty the King seeking a royal pardon for fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The Criminal Court ordered Jatuporn to publish the court’s verdict in the Thai Post, Matichon and Daily News newspapers for seven days.