On 25 July, a group of lawyers and red shirts visited 53 red-shirt detainees in Bangkok prisons to give them food and other necessities in a bid to give them moral support and help ease their hardship in prison.

This activity was suggested by Thanthawut Thaweewarodomkul who was sentenced to 13 years in jail for lèse majesté for his alleged involvement in the Norporchorusa website, according to Yuthakan Sophanna from the Rassadornprasong Law office.

Donations of about 60,000 baht were raised in just a few days through online social networking websites.

About 50 people from Bangkok and nearby provinces came to join the activity.  They met the detainees for about 20 minutes, and brought each of them a pack of food and necessities worth 600 baht from the prison store.

Among the 53 detainees, 49 men are detained at Bangkok Remand Prison and 4 women at the Women’s Central Prison.

Somyot Preuksakasemsuk had at that time been taken to appear in court to hear his indictment by the public prosecutor. 

The lawyer said that a similar activity would be held again on 19 Aug.

‘I’m really glad.  This is unexpected.  Initially, I just told [the lawyers] that our people here lacked food and other necessities, snacks, milk, butter, dry foods.  We live a hard life here.  Initially, I just hoped that they would buy things for us.  But many red shirts have come.  We’re really glad.  Thank you.  The visit today gives us moral support, and really cheers us up when we don’t know how long we have to stay here’, said Thanthawut during the visiting session.

‘We’ve long discussed that we should also come to visit other detainees who are not leaders and are ordinary people who have been jailed for coming out to call for democracy.  But we didn’t know where to start.  We didn’t know their names, and didn’t know that there were this many.  I’m very happy with this activity. I want to come again.  I want to tell others to come and pay a visit to the detainees here,’ said Somsak Plianchuen, 60, from Chachoengsao province.

Yuthin Seehamas, sentenced to two years in jail for violating the Emergency Decree and theft, said that he wanted the new government to help with their livelihood inside the prison.  His family lives in Roi Et and can come to visit him only once in a while.

Nakhon Sangsuwan, sentenced to 3 years and 6 months for violating the Emergency Decree, illegal possession of radio communication equipment and receiving stolen goods, said that he had been suffering from tuberculosis for about a year.  Although he has been receiving medication from the prison, his condition does not seem to have improved.  Since his family members haven’t visited him, he has never had healthy food.