A student activist who was imprisoned for sharing a BBC article about Thailand's king on Facebook has been released under a royal pardon.

Jatupat Boonpattararaksa, also known as Pai Dao Din, was sentenced in August 2017 to 2 ½ years in prison after pleading guilty on charges of insulting the monarchy.

He was arrested in December 2016 for sharing a profile by the BBC's Thai-language service of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who took the throne after the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The profile included mentions of the king's past personal life that are not openly discussed in Thailand.

Five members of Thailand's royalist Yellow Shirt movement who led a takeover of the prime minister's office in 2008 were also released Friday.