Thailand: 16 pro-democracy activists, media worker arrested
Event- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Oct 16, 2020
- Event Description
By 18 October, 81 protestors, activists, guards, students and truck drivers have been arrested in connection with pro-democracy protests, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR).
TLHR records that as of 12.00 on 18 Oct, 80 people had been arrested and 1 more was added to the count after a voice amplifier truck driver was arrested later that night as he returned from the protest at Victory Monument. He was charged the next morning and his voice amplifier equipment and truck were seized.
76 have been charged, 27 are currently in temporary detention and 8 are still in police custody.
The 16 October protest at Pathum Wan intersection where the police dispersed protesters using riot control and high-pressure water cannon: 12 were officially arrested including a Prachatai reporter, Kitti Pantapak, whose Facebook live report was interrupted as police grabbed his device. Kitti was released with 300 baht fine for defying a police order.
Another 3 were arrested and/or charged on 16 October for an incident on 14 October. Boonkueanoon Paothong and Ekkachai Hongkangwan were charged with harming Her Majesty the Queen's liberty under Section 110 of the Criminal Code. They were accused of blocking the Queen’s royal procession. Another was Somyot Prueksakasemsuk for his participation in the 19 September protest.
Somyot and Ekkachai, former lèse majesté prisoners, were denied bail and remanded at the Bangkok Remand Prison. Boonkueanoon was allow bail.
- Impact of Event
- 16
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly
- Offline
- Right to liberty and security
- Right to Protest
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Pro-democracy defender
- Youth
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Event Location
Latitude: 13.74723530013315
Longitude: 100.47820718792927
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
On 16 October 2020, a total of 13 including pro-democracy activists and a media worker were arrested for participating or covering the protest, while three others were arrested for allegedly harming the Queen's liberty two days before in Bangkok, Thailand.