Student activist ‘Pai Dao Din’ indicted

KHON KAEN: Lese majeste suspect Jatupat Boonpattararaksa has been indicted in court but denied any wrongdoing yesterday.

Mr Jatupat, better known as “Pai Dao Din”, was taken from the provincial prison to the Khon Kaen court to be formally informed of charges of lese majeste and violation of the Computer Crime Act behind closed doors. His mother Prim and lawyers were allowed to attend.

After hearing the charges read by a judge, Mr Jatupat denied all of them and decided to fight the case in court. The hearing took only five minutes and the session was then adjourned. He was again denied bail.

The court set March 21 for the pretrial examination of evidence and witness lists.

Mr Jatupat faces the charges after he shared a BBC Thai article on the life of His Majesty the King on his Facebook posts on Dec 2, with an added comment. The student activist was arrested the next day.

He was released on bail on Dec 4, but it was later revoked and he was remanded in custody at the Khon Kaen prison on Dec 22. All subsequent requests for bail have been rejected.

Yesterday, prosecutors opposed bail, asserting the suspect posed a flight risk. The court remanded him in custody and ordered he be returned to the provincial central prison.

His lawyer, Krissadang Nuttajaras, said the defence team and Mr Jatupat’s family will lodge another request for bail so Mr Jatupat could prepare for trial next month.

Mr Krissadang insisted his client had shown no intention to flee.

Outside the court, friends of the Dao Din group based at Khon Kaen University, along with students and supporters, rallied for his release amid tight security.

They held up placards with the message “Free Pai” and displayed symbols against injustice, the excessive power of the junta and curbs on freedom.

The suspect is also an anti-coup activist and in his final year of law at Khon Kaen University.