Student activists in Thailand go before military court

Bangkok’s military court has agreed to free all 14 student activists, who have been detained since their arrest on June 26.

BANGKOK, Thailand – A group of Thai students detained over a peaceful anti-coup rally will be released from jail later Tuesday, July 7, but sedition charges against them will be upheld, their lawyer said, in a case that has sparked global condemnation.

The students were part of a coalition of university groups in Thailand and were holding street demonstrations in June against the ruling junta, which calls itself the National Council for Peace and Order.

If military prosecutors decide to arraign the students, they will stand trial in the military court.

On Tuesday Krisadang Nutcharut, a lawyer representing some of the students, told Agence France-Presse the military court denied a police request to detain the activists for another 12 days. Supporters of the 14 activists have held candlelight vigils outside of the Bangkok Remand Prison where majority are being held. Journalists weren’t allowed to enter the courtroom. “They can now go back to their studies”. They face charges of sedition and violating the military junta’s ban on public assembly. In May, they conducted peaceful rallies in the northeastern province of Khon Kaen to mark the coup’s first anniversary. No date has been set for their trial.

Thailand’s military overthrew the previous democratic government past year after months of political unrest. They have censored the media, forbidden open political debate and ordered that security-related offenses be handled by military courts. However, the junta has prohibited political gatherings of more than five people and the military chief has said that “there is certainly someone behind” the activists. Each student faces a maximum of seven years in prison.

The court’s order was expected following calls for their release from several rights advocates, both here and overseas.

The students’ case is the latest dilemma for the government, which has come under fire for the country’s long-ignored human trafficking violations and illegal activity in the lucrative fishing industry that could lead to an European Union ban on imports from Thailand.

Prayuth has so far rejected worldwide calls, including from the United Nations, for the 14 activists’ immediate and unconditional release.