Thailand: Nitirat member detained, released on bail
Event- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Jun 16, 2014
- Event Description
Thai police on Wednesday charged Worachet Pakeerut, a law academic from Thammasat University and member of the courageous Nitirat group, for not reporting to the junta -- on time. He was released from Bangkok Remand Prison at about 6.30 pm on Wednesday. Worachet flew back from Hong Kong to Don Muang International Airport in Bangkok on Monday. The Immigration Police detained him and took him to the Army Club in Theves, Bangkok. He was later taken to the 11th Infantry Regiment for interrogation. On Wednesday at 10.20 am, the military took Worachet to the Crime Suppression Division for interrogation. The police decided to charge him with defying the coup makers' order. At around 1 pm, he was taken to the military court where the police submitted a custody petition. At around 5 pm, the military court granted his bail request. His family put up 20,000 baht in cash as security. The academic was summoned twice on May 24 and June 9. On June 10, Patcharin Pakeerut, Worachet's wife, submitted a letter to the military, saying that Worachet did not intend to flee, and would delay reporting due to his health problems. On June 7, another member of Nitirat, Sawatree Suksri, was detained at Don Muang airport and detained by the military for three days after she returned from a US State Department-sponsored trip to the United States and had not reported when summoned by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). Sawatree, however, was not charged. In March 2012, Worachet was assaulted by royalist twins. The twins said they were dissatisfied with Worachet's staunch opposition to the l��se majest_ law. Nitirat is a group of seven law scholars from Thammasat University. The group has proposed an amendment of the l��se majest_ law in line with human rights principles as well as a draft amnesty bill for political prisoners. UPDATE 10/07/2014: Worachet appeared before court again, where the police's request to extend his detention by another 12 days was granted (for the third time). He was, however, again granted bail.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Intimidation and Threats
- Rights Concerned
- Academic freedom
- Freedom of association
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Event Location
Latitude: 13.727895599999997
Longitude: 100.5241235
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
On 16 June 2014, Worachet Pakeerut, prominent critic of Thailand's lese-majeste laws and member of the oft-persecuted Nitirat (enlightened jurists) group, turned himself in to the military authorities upon his return to Thailand from Hong Kong. Worachet had not reported to the military when summoned on 24 May and 9 June 2014. It is reported that he exited Thailand soon after being summoned and went to Hong Kong, for reasons that remain unclear: it has been contradictorily reported that he was meeting with political activists or that he was receiving medical treatment. On 18 June 2014, after 48 hours of arbitrary detention in Bang Khen, he was taken to the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) headquarters, where he was charged with defying the military junta's orders. He was then produced before a court where prosecutors attempted to have him detained for a further 12 days, but the court granted him 20,000 baht bail. UPDATE 10/07/2014: Worachet appeared before court again, where the police's request to extend his detention by another 12 days was granted (for the third time). He was, however, again granted bail.