Lawyer sets sights on Pheu Thai Party

Teerayut Suwankesorn was thrust into the limelight when his name was mentioned by Paiboon Nititawan, secretary-general of the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP), after the lawyer petitioned the Constitutional Court to stop former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra from “threatening the constitutional monarchy by influencing the coalition-core Pheu Thai Party”.
In the petition, the ruling Pheu Thai Party is accused of attempting to undermine the democratic system with the King as head of state, the same charge that led to the disbandment of the former opposition Move Forward Party (MFP) on Aug 7.
Mr Teerayut had successfully sought the disbandment of the MFP. On Feb 1, he formally requested that the Election Commission (EC) petition the Constitutional Court to dissolve the MFP over its stance on the lese majeste law.
The EC petitioned for the MFP’s dissolution after the Constitutional Court ruled on Jan 31 that the MFP’s push for changes to Section 112 of the Criminal Code, also known as the lese majeste law, indicated an intention to undermine the constitutional monarchy.
The court then on Aug 7 ruled to dissolve the MFP and ban 11 of its executive members from politics for 10 years on the grounds that the party had jeopardised the constitutional monarchy and national security.
On Feb 2, Mr Teerayut petitioned the National Anti-Corruption Commission to consider pursuing legal action against former MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat and 44 MFP members of parliament who signed their names in support of a bill proposing to amend the lese majeste law.
Mr Teerayut accused them of breaching their ethical code of conduct by flouting the Jan 31 ruling.
The ruling prohibits any acts against the lese majeste law other than the usual constitutional legislative procedure.
Having graduated with a law degree from Ramkhamhaeng University, Mr Teerayut has been working as a lawyer for about 24 years now, except for the two months during which he was ordained years ago.
That was when he met Suwit Thongprasert, a monk better known as Buddha Issara.
He resumed working as a lawyer soon after leaving the monkhood and has since been known as Buddha Issara’s lawyer.
His other clients include former PPRP MP for Ratchaburi Pareena Kraikupt, whom he represented in some high-profile defamation cases filed against two well-known political activists, Veera Somkwamkid and Atchariya Ruangrattanapong.
More importantly, when it comes to pursuing legal action against those who act in a manner allegedly deemed hostile to the monarchy, this lawyer has quite an impressive track record of winning.
One of the multiple Section 112 cases the lawyer pursued was the case he filed against the three core figures in the Progressive Movement, namely Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, Piyabutr Saengkanokkul and Pannikar Wanich, over the speeches they made on Facebook Live sessions during the political upheaval in 2020.