The Military Court rejected a bail request of a man who wrote messages mainly criticizing the junta and allegedly making reference to the king in a shopping mall’s restrooms.
On Monday, the Military Court refused to grant 2.5 million baht bail request to Opas C., a 67 year-old man, charged with lese majeste after writing messages criticizing the junta and the Democrat Party and allegedly made reference to the king. The Court reasoned that the charges are serious and could not grant him bail because of the flight risk.
Opas was caught by the guards of Secon Square mall in eastern Bangkok on 15 October and later handed to the military by the mall’s personnel. He was brought before the press on 17 October and charged with lese majeste by the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) from writing the following message:
“The government of clowns that robbed the nation, led by f*** Prayuth. They have issued ridiculous policies of amateur comedians. Their main job is to use the monarchy (uncle [censored by Prachatai*]). Their main weapon is Article 112. I’m sick of seeing your face [Prayuth] every day. It tells me that you [Prayuth] are near the end because of the looming internal conflict.”
*The censored phrase, allegedly a reference to the King, merely describes a physical description of a person.
At the press briefing last week, Opas, next to Lt Col Burin Thongprapai from the military’s Judge Advocate General’s Office, said he wrote the messages because Thai politics stressed him out and that he was frustrated with the coup and the junta.