Red shirts jailed
Political cases against red shirts have continued in the courts despite the national flood crisis.
The Nation reports that in Udornthani in the northeast, 9 red shirts in Udon Thani were sentenced on charges of “torching the provincial hall in the aftermath of the riots [sic.] in Bangkok in May last year…”. If there is good news in this, “13 others were acquitted,” but only “because they had done their time for smaller crimes [sic.].” In other words, because they had been incarcerated for such a long time, they were released. PPT indicates its disagreement with the terms of the report. There was no “riot” on 19 May 2010. When the report says “smaller crimes,” these are also related to events associated with the red shirt rebellion.
The 9 who were convicted of arson or damaging government property, were ordered to pay damages. It seems impossible that they can do this in 7 of the cases: “Three of the arsonists need to come up with Bt142 million, two have to pay Bt57.7 million, while four of the convicts need to pay Bt20,000 each. They will be charged 7.5 per cent annual interest until all the money is paid.”
It is reported that the defendants’ lawyer would appeal the verdict: “The longest jail terms for the five arsonists, including a man who was a minor at the time of the crime, range between 20-and-a-half and 22-and-a-half years. One convict was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail, while three others got two-and-a-half years.”
On Thursday, 13 red-shirt supporters in Mukdahan were each handed a 20-year term for torching the city hall, while 16 others were acquitted.
Meanwhile, in Mukdahan province, The Nation reports that a further 13 red shirts were found “guilty of torching the provincial hall … and sentenced each to 20-year imprisonment.” There, “16 were acquitted due to lack of evidence.” Defense lawyers said they would file an appeal the verdict.
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