Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) is putting up bail for 19 political prisoners, mainly those charged under Section 112 -- the lese majeste law -- in a bid to protect their human rights.
TLHR on Wednesday published a statement on the bail application, saying the number of political prisoners, especially those imprisoned under Section 112 of the Criminal Code, has risen since last year, with the court refusing to grant many of them the right to apply for bail while fighting their cases.
According to the organisation, there were at least 43 political prisoners as of last Tuesday and at least 26 have been denied bail as they have not yet gone to court. Out of the 26 who are detained in prisons, there were 17 individuals imprisoned under Section 112. That list included Netiporn "Boong" Saneysangkhom, an activist who recently died after going on a hunger strike for 110 days in protest at the court's decision to deny her bail.
"On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the coup [On May 22], there are still many people who have been robbed of their freedom to express their political views, leading to an unforeseen increase in the number of people charged in political cases," the TLHR said.
"The imprisoned suspects and defendants who are dealing with political cases that do not look like they will end soon have expressed their intention to apply for bail to exercise their right again, and highlight the fact that there are still people who were not granted the right to bail, which is a basic human right," it added.
The TLHR said its lawyers filed bail applications for 19 political prisoners on Wednesday who had planned to exercise their right to bail, including activist Tantawan "Tawan" Tuatulanon.
They requested bail money from the Ratsadonprasong Fund run by the Siddhi-Issara Foundation.
