Student activists have called on the Civil Court to scrap a section in the emergency decree, which they say imposes disproportionate legal punishment for protests.
Activists from six universities also hold Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and defence forces chief Gen Chalermpol Srisawasdi accountable for the decree which has been in effect since 2015. Section 9 of the decree states in the event of an emergency situation, the public assembly law may be invoked to contain mass gatherings.
Under normal circumstances, a violation of the assembly law incurs a fine of up to 10,000 baht. However, if the law is enforced under the emergency decree, punishments entail a maximum jail term of two years, a fine of up to 40,000 baht or both.
According to the activists, it was a legal misstep to let the emergency decree introduce or increase the legal punishments enforceable by an act which is technically higher in status than the decree.
The activists have also claimed that Section 9 permits the defence forces chief to design a protest containment plan without obtaining prior approval from the court. The bypassing of the court in handling a protest is illegal, they claim.
The group called on the Civil Court to issue an injunction to waive the enforcement of Section 9 of the emergency decree pending the ruling in the case.
Noraset Nanongtoom, representative of a human rights lawyer group, said it might be possible that Section 9 was being applied to curtail the planned protests against Gen Prayut's eight-year tenure which expires today.
Enforcement of Section 9 would amount to a serious violation of human rights, Mr Noraset said.
Jenissa Saeng-arun, president of Thammasat University's student body, said the section was unfair to people as it metes out a harsher punishment than necessary.
It was unreasonable to cite containment of the Covid-19 pandemic and public health surveillance as a reason for invoking the section and the decree, the student president said, adding holding a protest is a right under the law.