Amphon Tangnoppakul won't be able to serve his 20-year sentence for insulting the Thai queen over text message. Reports on Tuesday say the 62-year old has died in jail.  

We've followed Amphon's strange case over the past year, as he was made into an example of the Thai government's crackdown on lese majeste, the very real crime of slandering the Thai monarchy, which the government has recently extended to Facebook likes and the Internet. Let's just say it's hard to ignore a government willing to jail a 60-something-year old man with mouth cancer, because he sent four text messages, which according to The Guardian, were deemed offensive to the queen. 

"Amphon's cause of death was not known, but he had complained of stomach pains on Friday and was transferred to a correctional department prison," reports The Associated Press, which adds that his wife only found about his death during a visit on Tuesday. "Amphon Tangnoppakul, you can come home now," said his wife Rosmalin during a prayer reception after learning of his death. "You're free now. Come home."

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at aabadsantos at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Alexander Abad-Santos