Court says police too tough on 4 activists

Court says police too tough on 4 activists

Won't detain them for championing poll

The Criminal Court has refused police requests to jail four pro-election activists charged with sedition, instead freeing them on bail. (File photo via coj.co.th)
The Criminal Court has refused police requests to jail four pro-election activists charged with sedition, instead freeing them on bail. (File photo via coj.co.th)

The Criminal Court turned down a request by police Thursday to detain four pro-election activists including Sukrit Piansuwan, Sirawith Seritiwat and Anon Nampha for staging a rally near Democracy Monument in Bangkok on Feb 10.

The court said the suspects' addresses are known and they do not appear to be flight risks. It said a concern raised by the police that they may organise more rallies in the future was only speculation.

They were charged with sedition according to Section 116 of the penal code and violating the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) chief's order prohibiting political gatherings of five or more people. Mr Anon said they were ready to defend themselves in court.

Karn Pongprapaphan, the fourth suspect, called on the public to join their activity at Thammasat University's Tha Prachan campus Saturday afternoon.

Earlier, the Southern Bangkok Criminal Court turned down a request by police to detain five suspects including Mr Sukrit for a rally near Pathumwan intersection on Jan 27, citing similar reasons.

Meanwhile, the poor state of human rights including treatment of suspects in the Thai justice system emerges as a theme in an Amnesty International report released Thursday. Thailand was named among the worst nations in the Asia-Pacific region in the report on the state of human rights for 2017/2018, which covers 159 countries.

It said it found multiple cases last year where human rights defenders, environmental activists, students and villagers had their freedom of expression stifled. Laws which the NGO saw as not complying with international human rights standards include the regime's invocation of Section 44 of the 2014 interim constitution, Section 116 of the penal code, and the Computer Crimes Act.

Amnesty International Thailand director Piyanut Kotsan said the country does not place enough genuine importance on human rights.

"The government has made human rights a national agenda item under the Thailand 4.0 initiative, but what has happened in reality is to the contrary," Ms Piyanut said. "Human rights violations continue unabated. A number of people have been harassed and arbitrarily arrested and prosecuted simply for expressing themselves peacefully," she said.

However, she acknowledged the cabinet has given a nod to the development of a refugee-screening mechanism, which if implemented on par with international standards in the future would be considered a major step forward.

Anticha Sangchai, the vice-chairman of Amnesty International Thailand, spoke of the numerous categories of violations that have occurred under the regime. Examples include the extraordinary powers of Section 44 superseding the nation's justice system and the ever-increasing restrictions on freedom of expression, she said.

In response, Kanchana Patarachoke, director-general of the Department of International Organisations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: "Thailand was among the first 48 countries to sign the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which we wish not to violate."

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