The Criminal Court on Friday merged three cases against four co-leaders of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee for various charges related to their protests against the Yingluck Shinawatra government.
Prosecutors charged the four defendants - Sonthiyan Chuenruthainaitam, 53, a former executive of news channel T-News; ex-Democrat MP Sakonthee Pattiyakul, 38; Sombat Thamrongthanyawong, 64, a former rector of the National Institute of Development Administration; and journalism academic Seri Wongmontha, 65, with insurrection, election obstruction, illegal assembly and inciting government agencies to stage work stoppages in their attempts to topple the Yingluck government.
The four appeared in court Friday. The plaintiff submitted evidence, including 216 files in 27 boxes, and three prosecutor reports. The prosecution sought court approval to merge the three cases into one on the grounds there covered the same offences and evidence.
The court approved the request after the defendants' legal team raised no objections. The court also agreed to postpone examination of evidence until June 26 as requested by both sides.