Court accepts protesters’ complaints, tells prison officials to follow official hours
The Criminal Court ruled on Monday that prison officials’ attempt to remove protesters from their jail cell late at night purportedly for Covid-19 tests was a violation of their rights.
The court also said inmates can only be tested or moved during normal hours in line with regulations.
On March 16, human-rights lawyer Arnon Nampa wrote that officials at the Bangkok Remand Prison had visited the cell at 9pm the previous day to usher fellow Ratsadon group members – Panupong “Mike” Jadnok and Jatupat “Pai Dao Din” Boonpattararaksa – out for a Covid-19 test.
However, Arnon said he and others in the cell stopped the two from following the prison guards as the act was suspicious, especially since it was at night.
The officials then left their cell and returned in larger numbers three times, at 11.45pm, 12.15am and 2.30am. Arnon said all officials were armed with batons, adding that there were also some men in blue uniforms with no name tags.
The court interrogated Arnon and other related persons before deciding that such late-night activity in prison was a violation of the inmates’ rights.
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