<p>A District Court has confirmed that the Military Court has jurisdiction over trials of anti-junta activists charged with violating the junta’s political gathering ban, saying the junta has successfully gained control of the country since the coup d’état.</p> <p>The Military Court of Bangkok on Tuesday, 7 June 2016, held a deposition hearing for Natchacha Kongudom, an anti-junta youth activist indicted for violating the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Head’s Order No. 3/2015.&nbsp; The order prohibits any political gathering of five or more persons.</p>

<p>The military and criminal courts for the first time have disagreed over which court should have the jurisdiction to try a lèse majesté suspect.</p> <p>The Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek Road, Bangkok, on Tuesday, 22 September 2015, ruled that it has jurisdiction over the case of 52-year-old Sirapop (surname withheld due to privacy concerns), suspected of offenses under Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the lèse majesté law.</p>

<p>Pro-democracy activists charged with defying the Thai junta’s orders have submitted a statement to the court of justice, urging the judicial authorities not to let military courts try civilians. &nbsp;</p> <p>Four activists from&nbsp;<a href="http://www.prachatai.org/english/category/resistant-citizen">Resistant Citizen</a>, a pro-democracy activist group, on Thursday afternoon submitted a statement to Bangkok’s Ratchadaphisek Criminal Court to call for the court of justice to resist the junta’s orders in letting military courts try civilian defendants.</p>