<div> <div>A military court has given an 8 months suspended jail term to a suspect who refused to comply with a junta order. &nbsp;He also faces a lèse majesté charge</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On 25 November 2016, Bangkok Military Court found Sirapop (surname withheld for privacy concerns) guilty of breaching a junta order. The court sentenced him to 1 year in jail and an 18,000 baht fine. </div></div>

<p>A military court in northern Thailand has released a man after he spent more than a month in detention accused of defaming the Thai Crown Prince.</p> <p>On 17 November 2016, the Military Court of northern Chiang Rai Province granted bail to Sarawut (surname withheld due to privacy concerns), a 32-year-old optometrist, <a href="http://www.tlhr2014.com/th/?p=2800">Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported</a>.</p>

<p dir="ltr"><em><strong>Updated</strong>: According to the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), the Military Court of Bangkok on 16 November 2016 has denied the bail request for Bundit Aneeya. He will be detained in Bangkok Remand Prison for the first custody period from 16-29 November 2016 with the possibility of the custody permission being renewed. </em></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Updated2: on 17 November, Bangkok Military Court granted bail for Bundit with 400,000 baht in cash as surety. &nbsp;</em></p>

<p dir="ltr">The Chiang Rai Military Court has for the third time denied bail to a man accused of lèse majesté for posting images of the Thai Crown Prince.</p> <p dir="ltr">On 3 November 2016, the Military Court of the northern province of Chiang Rai granted police permission to continue to detain Sarawut (surname withheld due to privacy concerns), a 32-year-old optometrist, the <a href="http://www.tlhr2014.com/th/?p=2672">Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported</a>.</p>

<div> <div>For a second time, a military court in northern Thailand has denied bail for a lèse-majesté suspect accused of posting defamatory images of the Crown Prince online.&nbsp;</div> </div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><img alt="" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5568/15214891692_d9b2535c96_b.jpg" /></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On 26 October 2016, the Chiang Rai Military Court denied bail for Sarawut (surname withheld due to privacy reasons), a 32-year-old lèse-majesté suspect, <a href="http://www.tlhr2014.com/th/?p=2582">reported</a> </div>

<p>Despite being accused of disrespecting the military court, an embattled lèse majesté suspect has refused to bow down, saying that the court should have defended democracy against coup-makers.</p> <p>On 4 October 2016, a defence lawyer for Sirapop (surname withheld for privacy concerns), 52, resubmitted his client’s closing statement to the Military Court of Bangkok,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.tlhr2014.com/th/?p=2358">Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported</a>.</p>

<p>The military prosecutor has indicted a youth anti-junta activist for joining a campaign to investigate Rajabhakti Park corruption allegations.</p> <p>On 27 September 2016, at the Military Court of Bangkok, staff of the Military Judge Advocate General’s Department indicted Chanoknan Ruamsap, a key leader of the New Democracy Movement (NDM), for breaking the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Head’s Order No. 3/2015, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported.</p> <p>Section 12 of the order is the junta’s ban on political gatherings of five or more persons.</p>

<p dir="ltr">A military court has accused a lèse majesté suspect of disrespecting the court for arguing that the courts have a role in defending democracy and resisting Thailand’s coup-makers. &nbsp;</p>

<div> <div>Human rights advocates have attributed the junta’s recent order to cease trials of national security crimes in military courts to international pressure and the incapacity of military courts themselves, rather than the junta’s commitment to human rights.&nbsp;</div> </div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><img alt="" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7640/16637990197_bd2f6a0230.jpg" /></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>NCPO Head Order No. </div>

<div> <h2>Order of the Head of the National Council for Peace and Order No. </h2></div>

<p dir="ltr">The Thai junta’s Order today phasing out the prosecution of civilians in military courts is a welcome step but the military government must do much more to comply with its international human rights obligations, said the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) today.</p>

<div> <div>The junta has issued an order abolishing military court trials of civilians who commit crimes against national security, including sedition and lèse majesté cases.</div> </div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><img alt="" src="http://122.155.92.12/centerWeb/Uploads/Image/2559/04/22/PNPOL590422002004101_22042016_070803.jpg" /></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div> <div>On 12 September 2016, the junta’s National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Head Order No. 55/2016 was published in the Royal Gazette. </div></div>