Thailand’s top court tramples over the country’s democracy

Thailand’s constitutional court made a predictably draconian move on August 7th. It dissolved the Move Forward Party, a pro-democracy group which won a plurality of seats in last year’s election. The court ruled unanimously that the party’s proposal to reform the country’s harsh lèse-majesté law—which criminalises criticism of the royal family—posed a threat to Thailand’s constitutional monarchy. More damningly, it banned all of the party’s executives, including Pita Limjaroenrat, its leader, from politics for a decade.