Suchart goes to court in artist row

BANGKOK: Suchart Sawadsri, who was stripped of his national artist status by the Culture Ministry’s National Culture Commission in August, lodged a petition with the Administrative Court yesterday seeking that he be reinstated.

In his lawsuit, he called on the court to overturn the decision and order the Culture Ministry to pay him 1.12 million baht in compensation for tarnishing his reputation.

The Commission cited Suchart’s “inappropriate behaviour” in speaking out in support of antigovernment protesters as the reason for stripping him of the title.