Anek denies link to bomb
Who is Manoon Chaichana, known as Anek Sanfran, the alleged mastermind behind the Criminal Court grenade attack?
Anek Sanfran is no stranger to security organisations, said the Chum Thang Bang Na column in The Nation Weekly.
He is wanted on an arrest warrant for violating Section 112 of the Criminal Code or lese majeste law.
Mr Anek was also summoned to report to the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) after the May 22 coup.
After police accused him of masterminding the court attack, Mr Anek told Isra News Centre he had no connection to the incident.
Mr Anek said he knew none of the people arrested by the police. He said he had never been in communication via the Line chat application, as the other suspects claimed.
According to the story, Mr Anek, also known as Anthony Sanfran, has run the King of Thai noodle restaurant in San Francisco for decades.
He became known as a Thaksin supporter on the defunct programme Democracy Today on IPTV 10 years ago.
Mr Anek would phone in every day to air his comments, the story said.
In July 2006, Mr Anek was charged with lese majeste.
Six years later, he set up the Thai Alliance for Human Rights (Tahr) organisation. He served as its executive president while Piangdin Rakthai or Saneh Thinsaen served as chairman.
“In that year, Thaksin travelled to the US and used Mr Anek’s restaurant as a meeting place with red shirt supporters in San Francisco,” the story said.
Mr Piangdin also told local media that one of Tahr’s first missions was to help Thaksin because he was ousted by a coup.
After the May 22 coup last year, Mr Anek was summoned by the junta. Following the order, he told the Isra News Centre he would never report to the NCPO because he is a US citizen.
“People who follow underground movements of the red shirts would be familiar with the names Piangdin Rakthai, Akhom Sydney, Choopong Plienrabob and Woodside Newyork,’’ the story said.
These people belong to Mr Anek’s network, it said. “That violence still persists indicates the war has not ended,” the story said.