15 suspects' release hit by technicality
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Technical problems barred 15 detained suspects from being granted bail for the charge of secret society and criminal association, their lawyer said yesterday and will make another attempt again Tuesday.
Initially the Military Court agreed to free them on bail with conditions that they must, apart from reporting themselves to authority periodically, not travel outside Thailand, not gather politically and not express political opinions, said Thanadej Puangpoon, a lawyer from the United Lawyers for Rights and Liberty, a lawyer association.
This included closure of Line group the suspects has used to chat together, an act considered by police as wrongly politically gathering, Thanadej said.
Thanadej posted bail for each suspect for Bt 100,000 as calculated by the court’s judges. The bonds, comprising of a millionbath landrights document plus Bt 500,000 cash, were gathered from the lawyer association’s funding and detainees’ relatives.
However cash transaction failed to arrive on time. The bail request technically was rejected. The lawyer said he would resubmit the request Tuesday.
Prior to posting bail at Bangkok Military Court, Thanadej went to visit the detainees in Bangkok Remand Prison, where he also met some visiting relatives. “They’re hoping for the judges’ mercy,” he said “One detainee lived with his eight-year-old daughter in Chiang Rai. Now there’s no one to take care of her.”
Thanadej was referring to 71-year-old Chinnaworn Thipnual, who, like most of detainees, were found to be red-shirt leaders in their provinces.
The group of 17 suspects was arrested on August 13, a day after coordinated attacks in seven provinces from August 10 to 12. Two of them were released from a military camp earlier for unknown reason.
