Activists in 2007 protest found guilty
Court defers sentence for parliament rally
The Supreme Court yesterday found 10 activists guilty of leading demonstrators laying siege to parliament to obstruct the coup-installed National Legislative Assembly deliberations on bills in 2007.
However, the court handed them a reprieve by deferring their sentencing for two years.
The deferring of a sentence is a form of reprieve, similar to a suspended prison sentence, probation and parole.
The 10 included Jon Ungphakorn, chairman of the Thai Volunteer Service Foundation; Sawit Kaewwan, a State Railway of Thailand union leader; Sirichai Mai-ngarm, a leading member of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD); and Supinya Klangnarong, a member of the National Broadcast and Telecom Commission (NBTC).
The others were Saree Ongsomwang, secretarygeneral of the Foundation for Consumer Protection; Pichit Chaimongkol, Anirut Khaosanit, Nussor Yima, Amnaj Palamee and Pairoj Polphet.
The Supreme Court overturned an Appeal Court ruling that had acquitted them.
The decision to defer sentencing was based on the fact the defendants had never been jailed before, the court said.
Their ages, occupations, demeanour, education were also considered, as was the offence, which was not severe, according to the court.
If they commit a similar offence during the two-year deferral period, the court would summon them and consider punishment against them, as they would have breached the terms of the arrangement.
Prosecutors charged the 10 with illegal assembly, causing unrest and assaulting security guards at parliament.
The 10 also conspired to pressure National Legislative Assembly members into abandoning a sitting to deliberate several bills on Dec 12, 2007, according to prosecutors.
On that day, hundreds of people, equipped with a six-wheeled truck loaded with amplifiers, demonstrated outside Parliament House and demanded legislators stop considering bills that later became the Privatisation Act and Internal Security Act.
The Court of the First Instance sentenced Mr Jon and five other defendants to one year and four months and the rest to eight months with a fine of 6,000 baht each, with the jail terms suspended for two years.
Speaking after yesterday’s ruling, Mr Jon said the protest was only aimed at opposing the enactment of legislation which the group believed was designed to infringe on human rights via an appointed assembly.
He said the situation then was no different from the current situation.
Ms Supinya said the ruling would affect her position at the NBTC and she would wait and see whether the NBTC’s legal unit considered her position untenable as a result of the ruling.
She said since the court had not passed a sentence on her, it was not clear if she was still qualified to remain as a commissioner.
However, Ms Supinya later wrote on Twitter she had decided to resign from the NBTC, saying: “The office will do not have to pay me a salary. This means I no longer work there.”
“I will go to collect my belongings and clear all documents.”
According to NBTC rules, NBTC commissioners must not have a conviction in a final judgement in any case, unless it is for negligence, a petty offence or defamation.
Ms Supinya’s resignation will reduce the number of commissioners to eight.