<div>In June, a conference on measures to avoid pre-verdict detention, held at the Miracle Grand Hotel by the Department of Corrections, Ministry of Justice. The participants were Pol. Gen. </div>

<div> <div>The Justice Minister has justified the use of shackles on student activists, asking rights defenders what would they do if unshackled prisoners escape, while a junta spokesperson said the use of shackles depended on officials’ personal discretion. &nbsp;&nbsp;</div> </div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Although the seven activists from the New Democracy Movement were already released, they have left criticism against Thailand’s justice system as the pictures of them being shackled by chain were widely spread throughout the media. </div>

<div> <p>KHON KAEN – Since the May 22 coup d’état, Thailand’s military has tried to sweep the country clean of weapons to quell fears of a violent uprising. But in Isaan, the heartland of the Red Shirts, some of the soldiers’ actions have raised doubts about the military’s intentions. Red Shirts here believe that the military may be wrongly framing peaceful Red Shirts as violent terrorists in a high-profile legal case, which could set the stage for a wider crackdown on Red Shirts in the region.</p> </div>

<p><em>My word how things change.</em></p> <p>When I came to Bangkok, I remember there were 3 buildings of more than 7 storeys. One was the tapering triangular structure of the Dusit Thani, which set an aesthetic example which later high-rises studiously ignored. The second was the glass-and-steel Chokchai building, whose construction on Sukhumwit suffered the hiccup of a bankruptcy until the CIA was rumoured to have quietly helped with the financing so it could stick its satellite dishes on the top. And the third was Thai Daimaru at Pratunam, which was so nondescript it has long since been demolished in favour of something much taller and equally nondescript.</p> <p></p>