Court orders lockdown for loan ruling

Court orders lockdown for loan ruling

The Constitutional Court yesterday announced it will enforce strict regulations on media coverage when it hands down its ruling on the Future Forward Party (FFP) loan case on Friday.

The landmark case is expected to attract a lot of media attention and so the court announced it will also broadcast the session live to its media room and common area on the court's second floor.

Media outlets have been asked to observe a ban on interviews as well any form of recording the event on the court's premises.

The court added that prior permission must be secured before any outside broadcast vehicles can be brought into the compound.

Meanwhile, FFP secretary-general Piyabutr Saengkanokkul posted on his Facebook page that he is confident the party will not be disbanded over the loan issue.

The case stems from an Election Commission (EC) accusation that the FFP violated the organic law on political parties by accepting a 191.2-million-baht loan from its leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit to finance last year's election campaign.

The EC cited Section 62, which allows parties to conduct fundraisers or receive donations, does not include loans as a legitimate financial source. It also cited Section 66 of the law which bars any individual from donating money or assets to parties in excess of 10 million baht within a one-year period.

Mr Piyabutr reiterated there are no grounds based on the accusations presented to the court that the party had done anything illegal in borrowing the money.

He said the loan was not defined as revenue but debt, which is not a legal violation.

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