The National Council for Peace and Order's (NCPO) legal arm, the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Office, has proved to be both powerful and abusive. Its numerous legal actions against civilians, mainly activists and politicians, have barely benefited the public but instead served the regime's interests.
Since the 2014 coup, it has slapped a series of criminal lawsuits against democracy activists and critics of the NCPO. Then, in the past year it has made efforts to bring down the political rivals of its boss, NCPO chairman and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
Last May, the JAG Office, led by Col Burin Thongprapai, filed police complaints against eight leaders of the Pheu Thai Party for holding a press conference during which they described the NCPO's performance since the coup as "a failure". In June, it brought another case against three executives of the Future Forward Party (FFP) for accusing the regime of poaching former MPs from other parties for a pro-regime party.
With just a month to go before the March 24 poll, someone needs to put an end to the JAG Office's involvement in politics and the lives of civilians. This legal arm of the NCPO has done more harm than good to the country as embarks on the path back to democracy.
The cases against the 11 politicians are nonsensical in nature and based on flimsy legal grounds. All they did was express their opinion, a freedom guaranteed to all Thais by the constitution.
Next week, public prosecutors will decide whether to proceed with the case against FFP leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and two other executives. Col Burin and his team have accused them of violating the Computer Crime Act by making false accusations. But what the trio said was the same message reported in many mainstream media outlets, none of whom are facing such legal action.
If prosecutors take the case to court, the trio could be locked up while they await trial, and their political fate would be left hanging in the balance.
The charges against eight former and current Pheu Thai members also lack substance. The NCPO's legal team claims they violated the regime's order prohibiting political gatherings of five people or more. It is also pressing a sedition charge under the Criminal Code, even though the press conference in question did not incite a riot.
The fact the police proceeded so quickly with these cases hints at the influence the NCPO's legal arm wields.
These legal threats are discriminatory and unfair in nature.
As long as Col Burin and his colleagues keep bringing questionable cases against politicians, the upcoming poll will not be free and fair as hoped. Moreover, the public is not blind. This kind of unfair law enforcement will further entrench political conflict and deepen social divisions.
Gen Prayut is now a prime ministerial candidate. He should not allow these absurd charges to proceed, unless he wants to open himself up to more accusations that he is giving himself an advantage over his rivals.
As the boss of the NCPO's JAG Office, he should have instructed it to drop these cases and stop pursuing other senseless legal action against politicians, especially during election time.