A Thai woman who received one of the kingdom's longest ever royal insult sentences was freed from prison on Wednesday under a mass pardon marking the king's birthday.

Anchan Preelert, 69, was jailed for 43 years in 2021 after sharing online audio clips on YouTube of an underground podcast host known as "DJ Banpodj", a fierce critic of the monarchy.

She was initially sentenced to 87 years -- three for each of the 29 counts of lese-majeste she faced -- but the court halved it because she confessed.

Anchan, a former civil servant, was first arrested in 2015 under the military government ruling Thailand at the time.

After around eight years behind bars, Anchan walked free on Wednesday morning along with 84 other inmates granted clemency from the Central Women's Correctional Institution in

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