Minor among villagers facing charges over 500-metre march in support of We Walk

“They are now facing charges for violating the ban by the National Council for Peace and Order [NCPO] on political rallies,” Taweesak Maneewan, an adviser to the Northern Farmers Confederation, said yesterday. 
If convicted, they face a jail term of up to six months, a maximum fine of Bt10,000 or both. 
The group marched briefly at the village on Doi Thevada on Monday morning to show support for the People Go Network’s ongoing We Walk march to Khon Kaen. 
The accused minor, 16, took part with his father. 
After they had finished the march, plain-clothes police complained that the marchers had not informed local officials beforehand. 
Then in the afternoon, uniformed soldiers arrived and accused the villagers of organising an activity that might affect national security. 
At 7pm on Monday, police summoned the marchers to Phu Sang Police Station – 11 people turned themselves in, while three others did not answer to the summons. 
The people who surrendered were detained overnight at the police station and taken to Chiang Kham Court yesterday morning. Police obtained permission to detain them further pending an investigation. 
The accused, however, successfully submitted a bail request and were released on Bt5,000 bonds each. 
The minor was the only one who surrendered but was not taken to court yesterday, because police had not been able to question him. 
Taweesak said all the accused marchers denied wrongdoing. 
 “The Central Administrative Court has issued an injunction to protect the We Walk activities, so this march should not be seen as a crime,” he said.
On January 26, the Central Administrative Court ordered that police were not allowed to block the We Walk march, which started in Pathum Thani province last month and is due to finish in Khon Kaen province later this month.