Protest groups have asked the army to oppose a bail request that is expected to be sought by paroled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra when he reports to prosecutors to acknowledge his indictment on lese majeste and computer crime charges next week.
The protesters from the Network of Students and People Reforming Thailand and Thai People Protecting the Monarchy groups marched to the army headquarters on Tuesday, where they submitted a petition.
The groups urged the army to oppose bail which Thaksin will most likely request when he meets the prosecutors to formally acknowledge his indictment on a charge of violating Section 112 of the Criminal Code, or the lese majeste law, on June 18.
The charge was laid against him following an interview he gave to a South Korean newspaper in 2015 regarding the now-defunct National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) coup that ousted the Yingluck Shinawatra administration on May 22, 2014.
His comments allegedly contained critical and offensive remarks about the monarchy.
Thaksin has denied the charge, saying the content of his interview was distorted to land him in trouble.
Pichit Chaimongkol, a protest leader, said Thaksin may try to meddle with evidence in the case if he makes a bail request and it is granted.
Mr Pichit added that Thaksin also poses a flight risk, a reference to the former premier having fled Thailand in 2008, shortly before the Supreme Court convicted him for helping his then-wife, Khunying Potjaman Na Pombejra, buy prime land at a discount while he was prime minister.
However, Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong indicated the army was not the official investigator and was, therefore, in no position to act in the latest case.
Also, Defence Minister Sutin Klungsang insisted the army had nothing to do with Thaksin's lese majeste case since the charge was brought against him by the coup-engineer NCPO even though the legal proceedings were conducted using the army's administrative mechanism.
"We have to let justice take its course, and the charge be fought in a court of law," the minister said.
On May 29, the attorney-general charged Thaksin with lese majeste and computer crime offences over the remarks made in 2015.
The computer crime charge stems from Thaksin importing information into a computer system that was deemed a threat to national security, according to Prayut Phetcharakhun, a spokesman for the Office of the Attorney-General.
Prosecutors were not able to arraign Thaksin as planned on May 29 because he allegedly contracted Covid-19.
