He questioned Thailand's monarchy dressed as Harry Potter. Now he's in jail for 34 years

Image source, ReutersImage caption, Arnon Nampa dressed as Harry Potter at the protest in August 2020 ByJonathan HeadSouth East Asia correspondent, Reporting fromBangkokEven before they come through the door, you can hear the prisoners walking towards the courtroom, the shackles round their ankles clinking with each step.The five who walk into the courtroom are familiar with the routine; they are facing multiple criminal prosecutions and have spent much of the past five years going back and forth to court.One of them, a small, bespectacled man with greying hair, opens his arms to hold his three-year-old son, who has been brought to court by his partner to see him.This is Arnon Nampa, a 42-year-old human rights lawyer. His offence was to call for Thailand's powerful monarchy to be scrutinised and held accountable. He did this dressed as the eponymous young wizard at a Harry Potter-themed demonstration in central Bangkok in 2020.On Friday a court in Bangkok sentenced him to two years and eight months for violating Thailand's lèse majesté law, or article 112, under which more people have been jailed for perceived insults against the royal family than in all the other countries that ha...