Partially blind Preecha seeks bail with help from red shirts

Partially blind Preecha seeks bail with help from red shirts

A yellow-shirt prisoner sentenced to 34 years in jail for the attempted murder of police during a clash on Oct 7, 2008, is appealing for a chance to get bail, with the unlikely support of red shirts.

Preecha Treecharoon, 56, listed his basic right to a temporary release, his blindness in one eye and personal vulnerability inside prison as reasons for his appeal.

"Inmates are discussing the reconciliation and amnesty bills with great intensity. I might be eligible for release if the bills are passed and I am afraid they may harass or intimidate me," Preecha said.

Preecha, who lost his sight in one eye after being shot during a protest dispersal, was given a suspended jail term by the Criminal Court in Aug 2010.

The Appeal Court, however, sentenced him to 34 years in jail for attempted murder in December last year.

A supporter of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), Preecha was injured after joining the group's blockade of parliament during Oct 5 to 7 in 2008.

Preecha was hit in the right eye by a bullet on the morning of Oct 7, as police fired tear gas into protesters to try to disperse them.

His car was nearby, and he tried to drive through the police barricade in front of him to get away from the chaos. With only one good eye, however, he rammed into a police bus.

When he tried to reverse, he ran down some officers. In shock, he turned around and hit more of them. In all, he hit five officers before police managed to capture and send him to Ramathibodi Hospital for treatment.

Preecha stayed at the same prison with the red-shirts just a few days before moving to Khlongprem Prison. While at Bangkok Remand Prison he found support from an unlikely group _ red shirts, from the opposite end of the political spectrum.

Red-shirt inmates Thantawut Thaweewarodom and Surachai Danwattananusorn have both written a letter to outside supporters to explain Preecha's situation in a reconciliatory tone. They believe Preecha ran down the police officers by accident because he had been shot in the eye during the dispersal.

United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship supporters on the red-shirt prisoners visit programme, led by Suda Rungkupan, also visited Preecha on Valentine's Day last month.

Preecha's lawyer Rasmee Phensuk is seeking temporary release for him, citing the right to bail both according to the constitution and the UN convention on civil rights.

"My client did not intend to murder anyone but the situation was chaotic. The protesters were being fired at. Preecha lost his right eye and his nose was also broken," Ms Rasmee said.

Following his sentencing, Preecha, the sole income-earner of his family, also lost his job as a senior employee at the Thai Tobacco Monopoly, where he had worked for over two decades.

He has yet to get used to life in prison. "Sometimes I have to be very careful when walking as I might accidentally bump into someone and they might get angry. I am yet to get used to life with one eye, let alone life inside the prison."

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