ข่าวสดลงภาพข่าวภาษาอังกฤษ
กลุ่มนักศึกษาม.ธรรมศาสตร์
จัดกิจกรรมแต่งชุดนักโทษใจกลางเมืองหลวง
กิจกรรมแต่งชุดนักโทษที่จัดขึ้นนี้เป็นกิจกรรม
เดินถือป้ายเรียกร้องให้ปล่อยตัวนักโทษในคดีหมิ่นพระบรม
เป็นนักศึกษามหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์
เป็นสมาชิกของกิจกรรมกลุ่มธรรมศาสตร์
เสรีเพื่อประชาธิปไตย (LTTD)
นำโดยนายปณิธาน พฤกษาเกษมสุข
ลูกชายของนายสมยศ พฤกษาเกษมสุข
นักโทษที่โดนคดี หมิ่นพระบรมเดชานุภาพ
เป็นผู้ร่วมในการจัดทำกิจกรรมครั้งนี้
(1 August) Student activists donned prisoners uniforms during their campaign in central Bangkok to raise awareness about political prisoners in Thailand.
The students, who study at Thammasat University, are members of the activist group Liberal Thammasart for Democracy (LTTD). They were led by Mr. Panitan Prueksakasemsuk, the son of Mr. Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, a former magazine editor currently imprisoned on charge of lese majeste (insult of monarchy).
According to Thai lese majeste laws, those who are found guilty of insulting the Royal Family face maximum of 15 years in jail per offence.
Critics of the laws argue that lese majeste is of highly political nature, as most of those punished under this law are allies of the Redshirts movement, such as Mr. Somyot, who once served as editor of a (now defunct) pro-Redshirts magazine, and Mr. Surachai Daanwattanusorn, leader of a more radical wing of the Redshirts called Red Siam.
Therefore, LTTD says, lese majeste convicts are political prisoners similar to Redshirts protesters imprisoned for their alleged crimes during the mass protests in 2010 which were ultimately crushed by the military.
To campaign for more public awareness about the issue, around 10 members of the LTTD wore prisoners costumes as they rode on the busy Skytrain from Victory Monument to Siam station and the heart of Bangkok′s downtown, passing through Siam Paragon shopping mall and BTS Skywalk.
On the way, they distributed pamphlets detailing the reasons why political prisoners should be released and the dangers of imprisoning "those who think differently in our society". They received considerable attention from the public as they made their way toward Ratchaprasong Intersection, the centre of the Redshirts protests in 2010.
The activists also performed a short drama skit in front of Wat Pathumwanararm Temple depicting the arrests of Redshirts protesters as the military launched final crackdown on their camp site on 19 May 2010. The activists then dispersed after around 1 hour of campaigning in the area.
Earlier, Mr. Panitan and his group staged rally in front of the Parliament House, announcing their stance that they would support the amnesty bill that covers only the political prisoners and not those responsible for 2010 crackdown.
The draft of the amnesty bill that the Parliament is set to debate on 7 August is dubious about the fate of the military. While Mr. Worachai Hema, the MP who submitted the draft, insisted the security forces could be put on trial following the passing of the bill, some Redshirts activists argued that Mr. Worachai′s draft did not contain such wording.
At the rally, Mr. Panitan said the release of political prisoners should be urgent mission for Thailand. He also called for compensation on behalf of the political prisoners, as many of them had been wrongly imprisoned or even tortured into making false confession.
"The amnesty will be like medicine that helps cure Thailand′s failure of legal system," Mr. Panitan said.
On the same day, the Court of Appeals in Bangkok ruled against allowing Mr. Somyot to be released on bail after he appealed his jail sentence. Ms. Sukanya Prueksakasemsuk, Mr. Somyot′s wife, had posted bail money of more than 4 million baht and asked the court for her husband′s release, saying he deserved the right to fight his appeal outside the prison.
The court disagreed. In their statement, the judges wrote that Mr. Somyot′s case is a crime that severely "affects people′s feeling", and they fear that Mr. Somyot might try to escape from legal prosecution if he is released on bail.
It is the 15th time the court ruled against granting bail to Mr. Somyot. Ms. Sukanya said she was not surprised by the court′s decision, and would continue to submit her request to have the court release her husband in the future.
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