THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Student activist files police complaint against military

Student activist files police complaint against military

STUDENT activist Sirawit Serithiwat, known as “Ja (Sergeant) New”, filed a police complaint yesterday after he was arrested by eight military officers on Wednesday night at Thammasat University’s Rangsit campus.

In the report filed at Khlong Luang Police Station, Sirawit, 23, said that four to eight men dressed like soldiers entered the university in two pickup trucks with no licence plates at 10.30pm. 
He said he was arrested without being told of what charges he faced and did not know who the men were or which agency they came from. He said they presented no arrest warrant before taking him into custody. He called for police to identify the men and find out what agency they work for. 
Scores of reporters turned up at the police station when Sirawit filed the complaint yesterday. 
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairman Vas Tingsamit said the agency learned that a military court had issued a warrant for the arrest of Sirawit, but it would have to check and see if the method used to arrest him was legal. 
Security-camera footage showed three uniformed soldiers grab Sirawit on a street outside the university. He was then seen being frog-marched into a car and driven away in front of stunned bystanders. Sirawit spent the night at Nimit Mai Police Station in Bangkok and was then handed over to Thon Buri Railway Police.
Three other student activists wanted for the same charge of gathering illegally – Chonthicha Jangrew, Chanoknan Ruamsap and Korakot Sangyenphan – were arrested the next morning when they showed up to visit Sirawit at the Railway Police Station. 
They were released on Thursday after the military court rejected a police request for the four student activists to be detained. 
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan yesterday denied receiving a letter from Amnesty International calling on the PM to drop charges against the activists. 
The letter addressed to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha urges him to cancel National Council for Peace and Order No 3/2558 and drop all charges against political activists.
Prawit, however, insisted that he had not seen the letter and denied that any rights had been violated in the country. 
“Most foreign countries understand us. No one disagrees with us. They understand that it is Thailand’s internal affairs. We just want to restore peace. The country must move forward. Polling results confirm our belief that we have taken the right path.”
He said the individuals facing charges wanted democracy, and the government wanted to bring back democracy. “But we have a road map to democracy and we are drafting a constitution,” he said.
Meanwhile, deputy National Police chief Pol General Sriwara Ransibhram-anakul said the court had released Sirawit because the offence he committed was not serious and he was still a student. 
But Sriwara warned Sirawit that if he and his friends committed the offence again, they would face the same charges again.
Maj-General Singsuk Meethong, commander of the 14th Military Circle said yesterday that his unit had summoned Jakrapol Polla-or, a student of Chon Buri's Burapha University, in for questioning after he and other students were caught distributing leaflets criticising the government.
Singsuk said he had told the student that though he had the right to write political analyses, distributing them was illegal. He then said that the students had promised him that they would only write articles, not distribute them. 
In response to the incident, Prayut said that security officials had been lenient with the students and if they enforced the law strictly, there would be too many hassles.
As for Amnesty International's call for Prayut to drop the charges against the students, Prayut said law is enforced on violators. “The law is the law, otherwise we would not be able to enforce it. Do not link human rights with the enforcement of law,’’ he said. 
Separately, Office of Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission secretary-general Prayong Preeyajit said the agency would wrap up its investigation into alleged corruption in the construction of Rajabhakti Park in Prachuap Khiri Khan province by the end of this month.
He said his agency had interrogated people suspected of being involved in alleged kickbacks during the building of the park, except for those who fled and are still at large. 
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