FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Three detained for allegedly seditious letters

Three detained for allegedly seditious letters

THREE SUSPECTS accused of mailing seditious letters have been detained by the military for interrogation, deputy national police chief Pol General Srivara Ransibrahmanakul said yesterday.

However, no arrest warrants had been issued for the suspects, he said. 
Srivara added that that he did not know if the suspects would be handed over to police, while it was still unclear if the three had been involved with political groups. 
Complaints had been lodged against the suspects for allegedly violating Article 116, he said, adding that some of suspects hailed from the Northeast. Article 116 of the Criminal Code refers to sedition.
Srivara said the three suspects might have committed sedition by writing letters containing false information about the ruling National Council for Peace and Order. 
He said police had to investigate the details of the cases, but expressed confidence that officers had enough evidence to apply to the courts for arrest warrants.
However, Srivara refused to disclose the suspects’ identities or their whereabouts, saying it was an Army affair. 
Meanwhile, reports said that one of the suspects was a Chiang Mai native named Sakda Sukulpanarak, while the other two were his wife and an unidentified woman. 

Surveillance ‘everywhere’
Sakda reportedly had cooperated with the inquiry, while officers had found documents in his car that they said would help the investigation, authorities said.
In a related development, Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan said officers were looking into a case in the Northeast province of Khon Kaen where leaflets containing anti-government messages had been distributed. 
The general said he was not worried that alleged dissidence would spread to other areas. 
Prawit added that any individual seen distributing such leaflets would be immediately arrested and that he would not tolerate acts of sedition that undermined national security. He said there were surveillance cameras “everywhere” that would help officers apprehend suspects. 
Referring to alleged lese majeste offences perpetrated outside the Kingdom, Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said yesterday he appreciated the Lao government for cracking down on accused fugitives who sought to damage the institution of the monarchy. 
The Lao government has shut down some Internet-based stations that dissidents had been using to broadcast propaganda damaging to the monarchy. 
Don said dissident groups would have no option but to cease operations if other countries acted in a similar manner. 
However, when asked if fugitives would be extradited to Thailand, he only said that it would depend on individual governments.
He added that other governments were trying to suppress crimes in their own countries, and no country would want to host fugitives that caused political problems. 
 

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