Junta’s orders are unlawful, youth activist says to military court

Despite being accused of several charges, a well-known anti-junta activist has insisted on his innocence, arguing that the junta’s orders are unlawful.

On 21 February 2017, the Military Court of Bangkok held a deposition hearing for Sirawit Serithiwat, a well-known pro-democracy activist battling several charges for organising and participating in anti-junta activities.

The hearing was related to an alleged breach of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Announcement No. 40/2014, and for violating a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that he previously signed under duress.

According to NCPO Announcement No. 40/2014 offenders of the Martial Law declared after the coup can be imprisoned up to two years, fined up to 40,000 baht or both if they violate the conditions of their release.

At the hearing, Sirawit pleaded innocent and vowed to fight the case, reasoning “the NCPO orders are unlawful” and that the junta is using unjust laws and tools to suppress political dissidents and legitimise their rule.

The military court judges have scheduled the case’s next hearing for 19 April 2017. Many officials from European embassies were present at the court to observe the hearing.

A poster-child for pro-democracy political activities and non-violent acts of protest, Sirawit was forced to sign an MoU by the military promising not to participate in any political activity after he led a group of pro-democracy protesters to symbolically eat sandwiches in protest of the coup-makers on 22 June 2014 in central Bangkok.

He said that, at that time, he was arrested in the late afternoon and taken to the sports centre of the Thai Army Club where he was interrogated by officers until 1 am the next day.

Despite the MoU, Sirawit was one of the key leaders of a political gathering held on 14 February 2015 called ‘Luek Tang Ti Lak’ (‘The Stolen Election’) during which he and several other activists were charged with violating NCPO Announcement 7/2014, a ban on political gatherings of five or more persons.

Since the 2014 coup d’état, Sirawit has been repeatedly arrested by the military. Up to now, he has been indicted with four charges for participating in various political pro-democracy activities outlawed by the military regime, three of which are still on-going under military court.

On 20 January 2016, Sirawit was abducted by eight military officers in the presence of many other people at the Rangsit campus of Thammasat University in Bangkok. The military officers then took him to a police station in the early hours of the next day where he was detained overnight.

Sirawit Serithiwat, a well-known pro-democracy activist (fourth from the left) and officers from European embassies in front of the Military Court of Bangkok on 21 February 2017 (Photo from TLHR)

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