Piyarat 'Toto' Chonthep, the leader of We Volunteer (WeVo), a major political youth group, was granted bail yesterday but was immediately detained again on another lese majeste charge.
The Criminal Court yesterday granted bail to Mr Piyarat, who was arrested in early March and charged with illegal association under Sections 209 and 210 of the Criminal Code.
The court set bail at 45,000 baht and warned Mr Piyarat it would be revoked if he carried weapons to protests or attacked police officers.
Mr Piyarat was arrested with 15 others at a shopping mall near the Restart Democracy (ReDem) demonstrators’ protest site on March 6.
Police confiscated slingshots, nut screws, marbles, smoke bombs and security guards’ helmets from them.
Police said the men were arrested because of fears they would instigate violence.
A group of people did indeed retaliate, attacking police vans and helping some detainees escape, during which seven police officers were injured.
The 16 men were charged with assembling for criminal acts, breaching the emergency decree and engaging in activities that could cause Covid-19 to spread.
Before Mr Piyarat left prison yesterday, police from Pracha Chuen station arrived to detain him around 5.20pm on the other charge.
Under the new charge, Mr Piyarat is wanted under a court-issued warrant for alleged lese majeste, and violating the computer crime law during the launch of his political campaign in Kalasin province.