webfact Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 Police eye brutal lese majeste law to deal with protesters By The Nation File Photo: Jaruwat Waisaya In a meeting led by assistant police chief Pol Lt-General Jaruwat Waisaya on Tuesday morning, national police discussed the option of applying the draconian lese majeste law on anti-establishment protesters. However, the number of youngsters to face charges will depend on investigation reports. Meanwhile, a source from the security sector said rumours of the Army getting ready to launch a coup are fake as the political situation is not critical at the moment. As for the planned protest outside the Crown Property Bureau on Wednesday, police say protesters will be handled in line with law and that the Army will not be involved. Bangkok police chief Pol Lt-General Pakapong Phongpetra said police are not concerned about the protest and officers have been instructed to not carry weapons when controlling the rally. He said there are 107 cases since January and that legal action against participants in the November 17-18 protest is underway. Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30398492 -- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-11-24 - Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you - Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates Apologies, Thaivisa is not currently accepting comments on this topic 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webfact Posted November 24, 2020 Author Share Posted November 24, 2020 Thai police to charge protest leaders with royal insult By Panarat Thepgumpanat Pro-democracy protesters demanding the resignation of Thailand's Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and reforms on the monarchy show the three-fingered salute during a rally in Bangkok, Thailand November 21, 2020. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa/File Photo BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai police on Tuesday summoned seven leaders of anti-government protests to face charges of insulting the monarchy, a day before a planned demonstration to demand that the king give up control of the royal fortune, a police source and a rights group said. It will be the first time such charges have been brought under so-called lese majeste laws relating to insults to the royal family in more than two years. Anyone found guilty faces up to 15 years in prison. Protests that began in July against Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha have increasingly turned to demands to curb the powers of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, breaking a longstanding taboo on criticising the monarchy. One of the seven, Parit "Penguin" Chiwarak, said his family had received a summons for lese majeste in addition to other charges and he was not afraid. "The ceiling has been broken. Nothing can contain us anymore," he wrote on Twitter. He told Reuters: "This will expose the brutality of the Thai feudal system to the world." Others named included human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa, who became the first to call for royal reforms on Aug. 3, and Panusaya "Rung" Sithijirawattanakul, a student leader who set out 10 demands for royal reforms. Neither was immediately available for comment. The police source, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said the protest leaders had until Nov. 30 to acknowledge the charges over comments made at protests on Sept. 19 and 20. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights told Reuters that police had notified the protest leaders' lawyers. ROYAL FORTUNE The summonses came a day before protesters had said they would march to the office that manages the royal fortune to demand that the king give up personal control of the assets. But instead of marching to the Crown Property Bureau, where police had set up barricades and planned to deploy nearly 6,000 officers, the venue was switched late on Tuesday. Protesters said they would now meet at the headquarters of the Siam Commercial Bank, in which the king owns a stake of more than 23%, part of royal assets valued in the tens of billions of dollars. "Let's reclaim the property that should belong to the people," the FreeYouth protest group said. It said the change was made to avoid confrontation, including with royalists who had also planned to go to the Crown Property Bureau in defence of the monarchy. Police were not immediately available for comment on the change. More than 50 people were hurt last week when police used water cannon and tear gas against thousands of protesters at parliament, in the most violent day of more than four months of demonstrations. The Royal Palace has made no comment since the protests began, although the king said the protesters were loved "all the same" when asked for comment on the demonstrations. Prayuth has rejected protesters' calls to resign and said last week that all laws would be used against protesters who break them - raising the concern of activists that the royal insult laws would be among them. (Additional reporting by Petra Mahira, Chayut Setboonsarng, Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Writing by Matthew Tostevin; Editing by Alex Richardson) -- © Copyright Reuters 2020-11-25 - Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you - Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates Apologies, Thaivisa is not currently accepting comments on this topic 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webfact Posted November 24, 2020 Author Share Posted November 24, 2020 Police prepare lese majeste charges ahead of Crown Property protest By The Nation Police were reportedly preparing to charge protest leaders with lese majeste on Tuesday, on the eve of Wednesday’s planned demonstration outside the Crown Property Bureau. The Ratsadon group has instructed supporters to gather at Democracy Monument at 3pm on Wednesday before marching to the Bureau for a protest over royal assets. Calling the demonstration “very sensitive”, police spokesman Yingyot Thepjamnong said police would try to prevent conflict but would prosecute anyone who broke the law. A total of 6,045 officers will be deployed to keep order and prevent damage to historical sites, he added. Deputy Bangkok police chief Piya Tawichai said police would try to separate any royalist demonstrators from the anti-establishment protesters. Nearby buildings such as Saint Gabriel's College would be closed on Wednesday, he added. Meanwhile, police charged pro-democracy activist Piyarat Chongthep with sedition on Tuesday in Ubon Ratchathani province, over a protest speech he gave in August. Police are also reportedly preparing lese majeste charges against fellow activists Arnon Nampa, Parit "Penguin" Chiwarak and Panusaya "Rung" Sithijirawattanakul. The lese majeste law, which hasn’t been used for more than two years, carries a jail term of up to 15 years. Police spokesman Krissana Pattanacharoen said on Tuesday that police had charged 170 people with protest-related offences, 100 in Bangkok. He also defended the use of tear-gas chemicals against protesters, saying the substances were not lethal. Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30398513 -- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-11-25 - Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you - Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates Apologies, Thaivisa is not currently accepting comments on this topic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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