Fresh Bail Bids Lodged for Five Detained Red Shirt Leaders

Published : August 19, 2010 :: 12:08:11 [ 1,315 views ]

Fresh Bail Bids Lodged for Five Detained Red Shirt Leaders

United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) lawyers yesterday lodged a fresh attempt to attain bail for five detained Red Shirt leaders. The development comes after an Appeals Court rejected the original application on Tuesday.

Bangkok, the 18^th of August 2010: Following Tuesday’s rejection at Thailand’s Appeals Court, UDD lawyer Karom Ponthaklang submitted Bt10 million cash as collateral for the fresh appeal through the Criminal Court.

The five detained leaders, key components of the April/May political protests in Bangkok, include, Natthawut Saikua, Khwanchai Sarakham, Yoswaris Chuklom, Nisit Sinthuprai and Wiphuthalaeng Pattanaphumthai.

At present, 19 of the Red Shirt leaders have been indicted by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) after the Department of Special Investigations (DSI) submitted their case earlier this month. All have been indicted on charges of terrorism, inciting violence and breaking the emergency decree over their parts in the recent 10-week anti-government protests.

The Appeals Court on Tuesday rejecting their previous bail bid, cited the ongoing DSI and criminal court proceedings against them as the main reason for not overruling the original decision. In addition, the continued fear that the suspects are a considerable flight risk due to their severe charges, which carry punishments such as life imprisonment and the death penalty, was still referenced by the court.

In the lodgement of Wednesday’s application, UDD lawyer Mr. Ponthaklang presented a number of arguments to the court regarding their release, including the fact that they had all voluntarily surrendered to authorities when the protests turned chaotic, signifying their intent to stay and fight their charges through legal processes.

Mr. Ponthaklang presented several more witnesses to the court who will provide statements supporting the five detained leaders bids for freedom, while it was agreed that all conditions set by the court upon any acceptance of bail would be stringently adhered to by the suspects.

Comments

Bob

said :

Hard to understand a legal system in which you just file the same old request over and over again until you get what you want. If the Court said no last time, why should they even agree to hear the request again?

Email : Bob@haha.com Date : 2010-08-20 13:27:24