Still jailing activists

The Criminal Court has sentenced Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, Panupong Jadnok and Atthapol Buaphat “to nine months in prison by the Criminal Court, after being found guilty of illegally organising a protest in Bangkok in February 2021, when the city was under the state of emergency during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

They were charged “for organising a protest in front of Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, at the Pathumwan intersection, on February 10, 2021.” They also faced charges for “leading a march to the Pathumwan police station, disrupting traffic flow and laying siege to demand the release of their colleagues” from detention.

The court also fined each of the three activists the paltry sum of 525 baht. That fine is indicative of the nonsense of the charges and the laws used.

They are to appeal and have been released on bail.