Detainee's son starts hunger strike
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After his father - lese-majeste detainee Somyos Prueksakasemsuk - was denied bail seven times, his 24-year-old son Panithan decided he had to do something.
Yesterday, Panithan began a four-day hunger strike in front of the Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek Road in what he said was a bid to raise awareness of the importance of a detainee’s right to bail.
Panithan, a second-year law student at Thammasat University, said he decided to go on a hunger strike because he believes his father, the editor of Red Power magazine and the now-defunct Voice of Taksin magazine, ought to be granted bail if he is to have a fair chance of fighting the lese-majeste charge.
He pointed out that even those charged with terrorism, which carries a maximum penalty of death, are frequently granted bail. Asked why his father, a key red-shirt member, had been denied bail seven times since his arrest in April last year, Panithan said the court cited national security and concerns that Somyos might try to leave the Kingdom. Panithan said he thinks both explanations are unsound.
Speaking hours before he planned to begin his protest, Panithan said the hunger strike “is a declaration that I won’t give up demanding the right to bail”.
He said he had waited long enough to see if his father would be granted bail and is now convinced that the only way to raise the awareness about the issue is a hunger strike.
“I want society to know about it,” said Panithan, who added that he has consulted a doctor about his plan and would only be drinking tea during the period.
