Amnesty International prepares petition in defence of pro-democracy activists
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Amnesty International Thailand Tuesday morning suddenly turned up near the Military Court in Bangkok, urging human rights advocates to urgently sign a petition calling on the authorities to drop all charges against 13 pro-democracy activists and release s
Tuesday at 1pm, the activists were due to appear at the court to review their detention order.
Their lawyers will request the court not to detain the activists. The seven detainees are among the 13 activists who have been charged with illegal political gathering and campaigning to influence voters in the forthcoming referendum on the charter draft after they handed out leaflets with information against the draft on June 23 in Samut Prakan province.
After the arrest, six of them were released on a bail of Bt50,000 each while the other seven refused to accept the court's jurisdiction and did not seek bail. The seven activists have been in Bangkok Remand Prison since June 24.
The activists' case is being tried by the Military Court and they could face up to 10 years and 6 months' imprisonment and a fine of up to Bt210,000 under the Referendum Act and for violation of the National Council for Peace and Order order 3/2558.
