Anchan Preelert

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Anchan Preelert is a former Thai civil servant. In January 2015, military officers arrested her under orders from Thailand’s ruling junta led by General Prayut Chan-o-cha. She stayed in custody for about 3 years and 9 months, first at a military camp in Kanchanaburi and then at the Central Women’s Correctional Institution when the case moved to civilian courts. In 2021 she was found guilty on 29 counts of royal defamation under Thailand’s lese-majeste law. Each count carried 3 years in prison, totaling 87 years. After she pleaded guilty, her sentence was reduced to about 43.6 years, the longest for lese-majeste at that time (a record later surpassed by Mongkol Thirakot’s 50-year sentence in 2024). Her sentence drew condemnation from global human rights groups, including Amnesty International Thailand. On 26 August 2025, her lawyers announced she would receive a royal pardon and be released on 27 August 2025, after almost eight years in detention.