<p>The Military Court has released the seven embattled democracy activists after detaining them for nearly two weeks.</p> <p>The Military Court of Bangkok at around 3:30 pm on Tuesday, 5 July 2016, refused the police permission to detain the seven activists, most of whom are affiliated with the New Democracy Movement (NDM): Rangsiman Rome, Korakoch Saengyenpan, Thirayut Napnaram, Somsakol Thongsuksai, Yuttana Dasri, Nantapong Panmat and Anan Loket.</p> <p>According to officers from the Department of Corrections, the seven will be released on Wednesday morning.</p>

<div> <div>The Constitutional Court has declared that the controversial Draft Referendum Act is constitutional, citing national peace and order and the unique context of the August referendum, adding that the law actually fosters what it calls ‘social reconciliation.’&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> </div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1616/26029077930_a2edb8fec6_o.jpg" style="width: 640px; height: 337px;" /></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div> <div>On 29 June, the Constitutional Court gave a unanimous ruling that Article 61 of the Referendum A </div></div>

<div>The Commuincation Authority of Thailand (CAT) has revoked the broadcasting licence of a red-shirt TV station for 30 days for violating the junta’s laws. </div>

<div> <div>Police officers and soldiers have again confiscated ‘right to campaign’ balloons from pro-democracy activists in northern Thailand, threatening to prosecute the activists if they continue the campaign.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On Sunday, 3 July 2016, over 10 police officers and soldiers confiscated balloons printed with the message “campaigning is not a crime” from activists of the Free Maejo for Democracy group, a pro-democracy student activist group in the northern province of Chiang Mai, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) <a href="http://www.tlhr2014.com/th/?p=851">repor </a></div></div>

<p>The Thai military have accused red shirts in Phrae of breaking the junta’s ban on political gatherings and summoned them for a four-day attitude adjustment session in exchange for having charges against them withdrawn.</p>

<div> <div>After shutting down red-shirt referendum watch centres, the junta has established its own nationwide system for the sake of a supposedly ‘peaceful, clean, fair, independent, and unbiased’ referendum while a red shirt leader said the junta’s centres were aimed at dictating the referendum result.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On Sunday, 3 July 2016, Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd, the junta spokesperson, said that the NCPO had launched ‘Peace and Order Centres’ across the country on 1 July, aimed at helping the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) facilitate the August charter draft refer </div></div>

<p>The Thai authorities have prohibited rangers and soldiers in the restive Deep South from having affairs with Muslim women.</p> <p>Col Yuttanam Petchmuang, Deputy Spokesperson of the 4th Region Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC), on Saturday, 2 July 2016, apologized to a Muslim community in the Deep Southern province of Yala about a meeting between two rangers and two Muslim girls in Than To District of Yala,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/BBCThai/photos/a.1527194487501586.1073741828.1526071940947174/1791581804396185/?type=3&amp;theater">reported BBC Thai</a>.</p>

<div> <div>The police have intimidated activists during a month long rally to raise awareness of rights of the northeastern people, and ordered them to stop their campaign.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The police on Friday at Srisalai District of Sisaket Province told the activists from the New E-Saan Movement that they were violating the Public Assembly Act after they have been campaigning in the region for almost a month. </div></div>

<div> <div>An Election Commissioner has claimed that the public inclination to self-censoring their opinions on the charter draft because of a climate of fear was not the commission’s fault, adding that if people want to know exactly what they can or cannot do during the referendum, they had better ask the junta.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On Thursday, 30 June 2016, Somchai Srisuthiyakorn, a commissioner of the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT), told the media at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand that the Commission never suppressed a free discussion on the draft charter or the A </div></div>

<div> <div>A civil society network has said that although Thailand ratified the Convention against Torture almost a decade ago, the situation regarding torture in the country has hardly improved. </div></div>

<div> <div>The deputy junta head has said now is not a proper time to demand freedom of expression since the country is in a ‘transition period,’ adding that the arrests of the anti-junta activists were not human rights violations.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On Wednesday, 29 June 2016, Gen Prawit Wongsuwan, the deputy junta head told the media that freedom of expression was not necessary for Thailand at this time since the country was in a so-called ‘transition period’, adding that the junta never suppressed discussion of the August referendum but everything must be done through the junta-provi </div></div>

<div>A report reveals that Thai justice system hardly take mental-illness of lèse-majesté suspects into account and the number of lèse-majesté cases against mental-illnesses has increased after the 2014 coup.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5568/15214891692_e68b09995d_o.png" style="width: 640px; height: 452px;" /></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On Tuesday, 28 June 2016, Thailand’s Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) <a href="http://www.tlhr2014.com/th/?p=712">published</a> a report showing the obvious increase in number of lèse- </div>