He is one of 103 people from Thailand’s youth-led antigovernment protests now charged with insulting or threatening King Maha Vajiralongkorn or his immediate family, a crime punishable by up to 15 years’ imprisonment. Hundreds more face other criminal charges.

Arnon, 36, says he has no regrets and vows the prosecutions will not crush the antigovernment movement, which in recent weeks has been building again.

“I think it has been worthwhile. Now the society can move forward and people can talk about the monarchy,” Arnon told Reuters in an interview while awaiting trial.

He denies any wrongdoing.

The king has traditionally been portrayed as above reproach in conservative Thai culture, and any criticism of the monarch — whom some have viewed as semidivine — is taboo as well as illegal.

Arnon, however, says talking openly about the monarchy is necessary in the push for democratic reform and the ouster of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who first came to power in a 2014 coup and has long associated himself with loyalty to the king.

Popular

Calls for reform grow ahead of Prabowo’s state address

Indonesia at 81: Whose sovereignty are we celebrating?

Indonesia’s rare earth push faces low-content, costly extraction hurdles