Despite annulling her conviction, the courts have again denied Darunee Charnchoensilpakul bail. As posted earlier, the Appeal Court vacated the conviction of Darunee (Da Torpedo) and referred her earlier appeal to the Constitutional Court. What is at issue is whether the original trial in June 2009, which was closed to the public, was constitutional or not.
Yet surprisingly, given that the original conviction was annulled, Darunee was not immediately freed. Prachatai has reported that on 17 February 2011, her lawyer and brother went with 1 million baht in cash to attempt to bail her out. The request was denied, on the basis that earlier courts had denied her request for bail, that she committed a grave crime against the monarchy, and that she was a flight risk. Her lawyer will file an appeal against this bail denial.
It is unjust that she is continuing to be held while the Constitutional Court ponders whether or not her case violated the Constitution. Whatever one thinks of her alleged crime, she faces serious medical problems and needs treatment outside the prison. Darunee should receive bail now.
As PPT has noted previously, when a lese majeste charge comes up, refusing to plead guilty is treated very seriously by the authorities. They punish those who do not accept their assumed guilt. The assumption of guilt in lese majeste cases is a very large and dark stain on the judicial system that the Abhisit Vejjajiva regime touts as “world class.” We assume the comparison is with corrupt and politicized judiciaries worldwide.
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