Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs This was after an earlier ruling by the court that the party’s pledge to reform the royal lese-majeste law amounted to an attempt to overthrow the constitutional monarchy.
Lese-majeste charges are extremely serious in Thailand, where King Maha Vajiralongkorn enjoys a quasi-divine status that places him above the political fray.
New York-based Human Rights Watch says the royal law has been routinely used to silence political dissent.
Last year Thai authorities prosecuted at least 258 people in relation to various activities undertaken at democracy protests or comments made on social media on lese-majeste charges, the organisation said in its 2024 World Report.
Pita, meanwhile, has warned against the weaponisation of Thailand’s judicial system, saying 33 parties have been dissolved over the past two decades, including “four major ones that were popularly elected”.
“The issue is not what we will do if we are dissolved – that is already taken care of and our ideas will survive – but rather the pattern of weaponising the judiciary and independent bodies that we should pay attention to,” Pita said.
“We should not normalise this behaviour or accept the use of a politicised court as a weapon to destroy political parties.”
The executive of the MFP, which has 148 seats in Thailand’s 500-seat Parliament, will form a new vehicle if the party is dissolved, he said.
