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Thai man dies during 20-year jail term for insulting queen Amphon Tangnoppakul was known as 'Uncle SMS' after being convicted of sending defamatory text messages By: Associated Press in Bangkok guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 8 May 2012 Link to this news: Thai man dies during 20-year jail term for insulting queen
A Thai man in his 60s who became known as "Uncle SMS" after he was convicted of defaming Thailand's royal family in mobile phone text messages, has died while serving his 20-year prison term, his lawyers said on Tuesday.
The case of Amphon Tangnoppakul, a grandfather who had suffered from mouth cancer, drew attention to Thailand's severe lese-majesty laws last November when he received one of the heaviest-ever sentences for someone accused of insulting the monarchy.
Amphon's cause of death was not known, but he had complained of stomach pains on Friday and was transferred to a correctional department prison, his lawyer, Anon Numpa, said.
It was not immediately clear when he died, but Amphon's wife learned the news on Tuesday during a visit to the Bangkok prison where he was being held, Anon said. Amphon was arrested in August 2010 and accused of sending four text messages to a government official that were deemed offensive to the queen. He denied sending them, claiming he did not know how to use the SMS function on his telephone.
He wept during his court proceedings, saying: "I love the king."
The sentence was believed to be the heaviest received in a lese-majesty case because of additional penalties issued under a related law, the 2007 Computer Crimes Act.
Before his arrest, Amphon had lived in retirement with his wife, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren in a rented room in Samut Prakan province on the outskirts of Bangkok.
Thai man jailed for lese majeste dies, says lawyer Activists called for reform of the lese majeste law after Ampon was convicted and jailed last year Continue reading the main story Related Stories Calls for change over Thai 'royal insult' law EU worry at royal insult jailing Thai jailed for monarchy insults
A Thai man in his 60s who was jailed for 20 years for sending text messages deemed offensive to the royal family has died, his lawyer said.
Ampon Tangnoppakul was admitted to hospital last week for a pain in his stomach, the lawyer told the BBC.
His wife found out that he had died when she visited the jail in Bangkok this morning.
The cause of death is being investigated, said a doctor, and it is still not known when Ampon died.
He was convicted in November last year of sending four messages to an official working for then Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
He denied the claims and said he did not know how to send a text.
The conviction - the heaviest for a lese majeste case - sparked outrage among rights groups, with Amnesty International describing Ampon as a political prisoner and the European Union expressing ''deep concern''.
Reform calls
Ampon, who became known as ''Uncle SMS'', had been hoping for a royal pardon, his lawyer Anon Numpa said.
He was charged under the Computer Crimes Act and lese majeste law, which is designed to protect the monarchy.
Critics say both laws have been increasingly politicised and used to curb free speech in Thailand. Activists have called for the laws to be reformed.
A number of foreigners have been convicted of the offence in recent years, but they are often quickly pardoned and deported from the country.
Some Thai academics and writers have fled the country for fear of being denounced.
In one current high-profile case, the webmaster of a liberal news website has been put on trial for allegedly failing to remove offensive comments posted by readers quickly enough.
The verdict for the case is due at the end of this month.