WOMAN JAILED FOR INSULTING MONARCHY

BANGKOK A Thai court on Tuesday sentenced a woman to more than 43 years in jail for sharing online posts criticizing the royal family, her lawyer said, the country's harshest sentence for insulting the monarchy.

Anchan Preelert, 65, pleaded guilty to 29 separate violations of sharing and posting clips on YouTube and Facebook between 2014 and 2015, her lawyer, Pawinee Chumsri, told Reuters.

She was initially sentenced to 87 years but because she had acknowledged guilt, the court cut the term in half, the lawyer said.

Her sentence comes at a time of unprecedented youth-led demonstrations in which protest leaders have openly criticized the monarchy, risking prosecution under Thailand's strict law known as lese majeste, which carries a 15-year penalty for each violation.