Four anti-government protesters have been sentenced to one to three years in jail for a riot in Din Daeng district of Bangkok last year and three of them have been found guilty of torching police vehicles.
The Criminal Court sentenced Watcharapol Naksuay, Chatupol Boonpul and Nathapol Lekyaem to three years in jail for torching two police vehicles during the rally with about 80 other people on the night of June 11, 2022.
Palapol Jitsuparp was sentenced to one year and four months in jail for resisting police instructions during the same rally. There was no evidence to prove he torched a police vehicle.
The protest by the hard-core Thalu Gas group beneath an elevated expressway section on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road followed a peaceful anti-government rally at the nearby Victory Monument earlier in the day.
The court said the demonstrators violated a ban on gatherings during a period of strict Covid-19 control measures. They were also found guilty of illegal assembly and unrest.
The four men had earlier denied all charges and told the court that they only rode their motorcycles past the protest site. They had been released on bail.
The four plan to appeal their convictions and request bail.