After the Military Court ordered the release of seven democracy activists on Tuesday, only six have been freed.

At around 8:30 am on Wednesday, 6 July 2016, the Department of Corrections released six of the seven democracy activists accused of violating the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Head’s Order No. 3/2015, the junta’s ban on political gatherings of five or more persons, and the controversial Referendum Act for distributing campaign flyers on the upcoming draft constitution referendum.

As the six, Rangsiman Rome, Thirayut Napnaram, Somsakol Thongsuksai, Yuttana Dasri, Nantapong Panmat and Anan Loket, were freed, the authorities further detained Korakoch Saengyenpan, a 24-year-old student activist from Kasetsart University.

According to Rangsiman, a leader of the New Democracy Movement, a prominent anti-junta activist group, the authorities refused to free Korakoch because he is also accused of breaking the junta’s political gathering ban when he joined a group of activists in December 2015 on a field trip to demand an investigation into allegations of corruption concerning Rajabhakti Park, a royal themed park in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province.

Six of the seven democracy activists breathe the air of freedom after their release on 6 July 2016 from nearly two weeks in detention (courtesy of Fahroong Srikhao)