Core leaders of the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) movement have been released by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), on the condition they refrain from taking part in any political activities for the time being.
Nattawut Saikuar, a core leader of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) red shirt movement and the former deputy minister of agriculture, was among red shirts freed from junta detention Wednesday. (Photo by Chanat Katanyu)
UDD chairman Jatuporn Prompan along with other UDD key figures including UDD secretary-general Nattawut Saikuar, Tida Tawornseth, Weng Tojirakarn, Veerakarn Musikhapong and Korkaew Pikulthong, were released Wednesday afternoon.
The leaders were earlier taken from the Army Club in Thewes to an unidentified military camp where they have been detained since last Thursday.
An army source said the UDD co-leaders were detained at Phanurangsi military camp in Ratchaburi province and they were released without any charge.
The source said before the release, assistant army chief Gen Paiboon Khumchaya, the NCPO's head of legal affairs, met the red-shirt leaders to negotiate with them that they would be released without charge in exchange for their promise to refrain from political activities.
They were told to avoid mobilising supporters in opposing the coup makers, and to encourage UDD supporters to take part in the NCPO's national unity campaign which will take place nationwide.
Gen Prayuth on Tuesday set out steps to promote national unity by stamping out colour-coded political and social divisions.
The measures are designed to lead to national reform. (Story continues below)
For the fifth straight day, anti-coup protesters demonstrated against the military junta at Victory Monument, as police stood by and a small Military Police unit had several small scuffles.
Under the plan, the main reconciliation centre for reform will be set up by the NCPO and four regional centres run by the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Armies nationwide, he said.
A Pheu Thai Party source, meanwhile, said former caretaker deputy prime minister Plodprasop Suraswadi was released from detention on Tuesday night and he is back home.
Noppadon Pattama, legal adviser to ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was also released on the same night, said the same Pheu Thai source.
Mr Noppadon is back at his house near Bangkok without military guard, said the source.
A source in the NCPO, meanwhile, dismissed rumours that former caretaker prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra was under house arrest.
The NCPO source said Ms Yingluck was detained for one day on Saturday and after that she was allowed to go home.
Ms Yingluck is allowed to travel freely in the country as long as she tells the soldiers deployed to guard her residence on Soi Yothin Patthana where she is going, said the source.
Ms Yingluck, however, is banned from going overseas for now.
A UDD source, who has been in hiding since the NCPO seized power last week, told the Bangkok Post the red shirts were currently "tolerating" the NCPO's actions against them.
The NCPO seized weapons and attempted to link the seizures with the red shirts without any proof.
The red shirts do not have anyone to lead them against the NCPO, the source said.
This leaves opponents of the coup on their own, the same source added. (Story continues below)
Key red-shirt figures, including Veerakarn Musikhapong (above) were brought from their detention area in Ratchaburi province to the Army Auditorium in Bangkok’s Thewes area and subsequently released. (Photo by Chanat Katanyu)
Chaturon denied bail
A military court on Wednesday night ordered that former education minister Chaturon Chaisaeng be detained for 12 days to face charges for defying the coup-makers' orders.
Mr Chaturon failed to report to the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) after the military seized power last Thursday. He was arrested on Tuesday at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand in Bangkok, after giving a press briefing to reporters.
He was detained by the military overnight and taken to the Crime Suppression Division for questioning. Wednesday evening, he was taken before a military court for ignoring an NCPO order for him to report to the council.
Mr Chaturon was brought to court under heavy guard by soldiers. He appeared to be in a cheerful mood.
The court later denied Mr Chaturon bail and ordered he be detained in Bangkok Remand Prison for 12 days.
Earlier Wednesday, Mr Chaturon's wife, Jiraporn Chaisaeng, turned up at the military court to see her husband after it was announced he would be taken there. However, Mrs Jiraporn was told that Mr Chaturon's court appearance had been delayed because military officials had failed to gather the necessary documentation in time.
Vice Admiral Krissada Charoenpanich, chief of the Military Judicial Office, said Mr Chaturon was entitled to a lawyer and could apply for bail. During the trial, the prosecution can seek to detain Mr Chaturon for 12 days at a time, and his detention can last up to 84 days.
V/Adm Krissada said if Mr Chaturon pleads guilty, there will be no testimony from witnesses and a ruling can be given promptly. If he pleads not guilty, the trial will take some time, but should not exceed 48 days. If found guilty, Mr Chaturon faces up to two years in jail and/or a maximum fine of 40,000 baht. There will be no avenue of appeal.
Vice Adm Krissada said the military court expects to be flooded with cases following the NCPO's order that offenders in lese majeste and security-related cases will be subject to court martial proceedings.
Mr Chaturon, a key Pheu Thai Party figure, will be the first person under the junta's rule to stand trial in a military court.
On Tuesday, the NCPO instructed correctional institutions under the supervision of the Justice Ministry to comply with military court orders.
Chaturon Chaisaeng faces charges of not reported to military authorities, and could be sentenced to two years in prison. (Photo by Wassayos Ngamkham)