[Update] Military court grants bail to prominent anti-junta activist

The military court granted bail to one of the four embattled anti-junta activists from Resistant Citizen, a pro-democracy activist group.

At around 2.20 pm on Thursday, Bangkok’s military court granted 70,000 baht (2,150 USD) bail to Pansak Srithep, a pro-democracy activist and father of a boy killed by the military during the 2010 political violence.

At press time, media and supporters of Pansak were waiting for Bangkok Remand Prison officers to release Pansak.

At around noon on the same day, the military court granted police permission to detain Pansak for an initial period of 12 days.

The police arrested Pansak in the early hours of Thursday at his house in the north of Bangkok before taking him to Chanasongkram Police Station for interrogation.

On Thursday morning, the police took Pansak to Bangkok’s military court and submitted a custody request. The police said that they would object to the activist’s bail request.

   Pansak Srithep in police custody on 26 March 2015 

The military court issued an arrest warrant for Pansak on 17 March.   

According to Anon Numpa, a volunteer human rights lawyer for Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), and fellow Resistant Citizen activist, in his capacity as Pansak’s attorney, the police charged Pansak with violation of the junta’s National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Order No. 7/2014, which prohibits a political gathering of more than five persons, offenses under Article 14 of the Computer Crime Code for importing illegal computer content, and Article 116 of the Criminal Code for instigating rebellion.

Anon added that the police barred him from talking to the activist while they were writing the report regarding Pansak’s arrest. However, Anon was allowed to see Pansak after he raised the issue with the police.

Prior to his arrest, Pansak planned to walk from his residence to Bangkok’s military court on 26-27 March for interrogation.    

Earlier on 14-16 March, Pansak led a three-day march called ‘I Walk Therefore I Am’ from his home to Pathumwan Police Station in central Bangkok. Organized by Resistant Citizen, an anti-junta activist group, the march was to campaign against the use of military courts to try civilians.

 

See related news:

Military court releases 4 anti-junta activists

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