Activist goes to court over ‘illegal arrests’

Activist Nuttaa Mahattana has filed a petition against the arrest and detention of 15 people, including herself, on charges connected to a protest they led to mark the regime’s fourth anniversary on May 22.

Nuttaa, a leading member of the group called “People Who Want Elections”, said the petition was aimed at preserving the rule of law and for upholding basic human rights.

Accompanied by lawyer, Narinpong Jinasak, she lodged the petition at the Criminal Court despite she and her 14 fellow protest leaders having been granted bail.

Ms Nuttaa said she was acting alone and that her action was a display of her right as an accused in a criminal case, to have the case heard in a timely manner. If her petition is successful, other protest leaders may submit similar ones later. Each was released on 100,000 baht bail.

Ms Nuttaa said the charges stemming from the May 22 protest was the fourth criminal case she has faces related to the activist group’s activities to demand an early election in November.

Yesterday, Ms Nuttaa said she and the other 14 activists should be presumed innocent until proven guilty and should not have been held in police custody or detained.

Ms Nuttaa said there was no reason to detain them because they had shown good faith by reporting themselves to police even before the charges were laid against them. They also posed no flight risk.

“This case is political in nature. The police investigators were wrong to try and detain us, which was meant to intimidate us,” she said.

Mr Narinpong said the detention order was unlawful and violated basic human rights. The petition submitted yesterday outlined what the protesters said were violations of their rights by the authorities when dealing with the protest.

On May 24, police took the 15 activists to the Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek Road to seek approval for an initial 12-day period of detention. Police opposed bail, arguing that they faced serious charges.

The court ordered that they be detained but eventually them granted bail in response to a request from their lawyer. They were banned from staging and participating in political gatherings that violate the law and pose threats to society.

The 15 have been charged with sedition; violating Section 215 of the Criminal Code which involves gatherings of 10 people or more to make threats or commit acts of violence to cause disturbances in the country; and the National Council for Peace and Order ban on political gatherings of five or more people.