Confusion over military court’s arrest warrants for 17 suspects

Fifteen people are under detention in the 11th Military Circle in Bangkok, though two have been released for unknown reasons, an official said.

Maj-General Wicharn Jodtaeng, chief of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)’s legal division, earlier lodged a petition with the Crime Suppression Bureau accusing the suspects of being part of a secret society and criminal association. 

However, national police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda said the 17 individuals had only been arrested because they were politically against the military government, and they were not connected to the recent bomb attacks. The only arrest warrant issued in relation to the attacks in seven provinces was in the name of Narathiwat’s Tak Bai resident Ahama Lengha, he said. Asked why the 17 were arrested in the wake of the attacks in the South, Chakthip said whether there is a bomb or not, police still have to restrict political movements. 

A spate of bombs and arson rocked seven provinces in the upper South, including the resort island of Phuket, Surat Thani’s Samui island and Prachuap Khiri Khan’s resort town of Hua Hin. The attacks killed four people and injured more than 30 others, including foreign tourists. 

While many security experts suggested the attacks on Thai Mother’s Day might be linked to previous violence in the predominantly Muslim region, Chakthip said he believed the motivation was mostly political and related to the draft charter referendum. 

Warrants and arrests earlier failed to back up any theories. It was believed the Chiang Mai resident Sakharin Karuehas, who was detained for allegedly setting fire to a department store in Nakhon Si Thammarat, was wrongly arrested. However, Chakthip defended the arrest, pointing out that Sakharin now faces a new charge of possessing explosive materials. 

Ahama, who is suspected of planting a bomb at Phuket’s Patong Beach, may be connected to the violence in the deep South that has killed more than 6,000 people since early 2004. A source said Ahama is now on the run in Malaysia. 

The arrest warrants issued yesterday include a few police officers and women. They are residents of different provinces, including Angthong, Bangkok, Chiang Rai, Nonthaburi, Nong Khai, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung and Roi Et. The youngest is a 39-year-old woman from Bangkok and the oldest a 71-year-old retired policeman from Phatthalung. 

Upon interrogation they revealed that they are members of the Revolutionary Democracy Party and have no connection with insurgency in the deep South. Officials found an AK-47 rifle in one of the suspect’s home.