The military Court granted bail to one of the four embattled anti-junta activists from Resistant Citizen, a pro-democracy activist group.
At around 2.20pm on Thursday, Bangkok’s Military Court granted a 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 awaits the Bangkok Remand Prison’s officers to release Pansak.
Earlier at around noon on the same day, the military court granted the police a custody permission to detain Pansak for the first period of 12 days.
The police arrested Pansak in an early hour on Thursday from his house in the north of Bangkok before bringing him to the Chanasongkram Police Station for interrogation.
On Thursday morning, the police brought Pansak to Bangkok’s military court and submitted the custody request for him. The police said that they would object the activist’s bail request.
Pansak Srithep in police custody on 26 March 2015
The military court issued the arrest warrant for Pansk on 17 March.
According to Anon Numpa, a volunteered 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)’s Order No.7/2014, which prohibits a political gathering with more than five persons, offenses under Article 14 of the Computer Crime Code for importing illegal computer contents, and article 116 for Criminal Code for instigating rebellion.
Anon added that the police barred him from talking the activist while they were writing the report regarding Pansak’s arrest. However, Anon was allowed to see pansak after he raised the issue to the police.
Prior to his arrest, Pansak planned to walked from his residence to Bangkok’s military court from 26-27 March for interrogation.
Earlier on 14-16 March, Pansak led a three-days march titled ‘I Walk Therefore I Am’ from his home to Pathumwan Police Station in central Bangkok. Organised by Resistant Citizen, an anti-junta activist group, the march was to campaign against the use of military courts to try civilians.
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