Thailand: 17 student activsts intimidated by authorities
Event- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Mar 19, 2015
- Event Description
In a bid to stop the political activities of student activists, military officers have intimidated 17 student activists by paying visits to their homes, dorms, and parent's homes. The Thai Student Centre for Democracy (TSCD), a student activist group, on Wednesday revealed on the group's Facebook page that since 19 March, 17 student activists have been intimidated by military officers who came to visit their homes. "Military and police officers, both in uniform and plain-clothes, raided, carried out searches, and talked to student activists and the parents of students who have records of political activities since the 2014 coup d'_tat in an attempt to adjust their attitudes," wrote the TSCD on Facebook. At 1.30 pm on Wednesday three police officers from the Special Branch of the Royal Thai Police (SBP), a police unit responsible for national security intelligence, visited the parents of Natchacha Kongudom, a prominent TSCD student activist from Bangkok University, in the northeastern province of Nong Khai. On the same day, several military officers visited the parents of Rangsiman Rome, another prominent student activist from the League of Liberal Thammasat for Democracy (LLTD), another activist group based at Thammasat University. Both Natchacha and Rangsiman participated in a protest in front of Bangkok's military court on 16 March to support the four embattled anti-junta activists from Resistant Citizen, an anti-junta activist group, who were charged with defying the junta's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Order No. 7/2014 for holding a political gathering of more than five people on 14 February. In addition, on Wednesday, Seri Kasetsart, a student activist group based at Kasetsart University in Bangkok, revealed on the group's Facebook page that on Wednesday evening security officers in plainclothes visited the home of Athiwich Pattamapornsirigun, a leading member of the group. Athiwich was not at home during the officers' visit. However, the officers talked to his family members and told them to send him a message that he should not engage in any political activity. Seri Kasetsart is a student group which actively campaigns against the privatisation of public universities, such as the privatisation of Kasetsart University and Thammasat University. After the incident, the group urged the junta to refrain from any dictatorial action. Seri Kasetsart is one of the student groups that rallied in front of the National Legislative Assembly on Thursday morning against the university privatisation bill.
- Impact of Event
- 17
- Violation
- Intimidation and Threats
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Event Location
Latitude: 13.756330900000007
Longitude: 100.5017651
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
Since 19 March 2015, 17 student activists have been intimidated by military and police officers who came to visit their homes both in uniform and plan-clothes. They raided, carried out searches and talked to students activists and the parents of students who have records of political activities since the coup 2014 in an attempt to adjust their attitudes,