Protesters gathered in front of the Ratchadapisek Criminal Court on Sunday (14 July) in memory of activist Netiporn Sanesangkhom, who died in detention two months ago following a long hunger strike.

Protesters held pictures of Netiporn and other political prisoners. (Photo by Ginger Cat)

The protesters also demanded bail for political prisoners. They stood along Ratchadapisek Road holding pictures of detained activists and laying flowers in memory of Netiporn.

Ticha Nanakorn, director of Baan Kanjanapisek Juvenile Vocational Training Centre, attended the protest. She said that the event is a symbolic reminder to those responsible for the justice system that they must take action in this case for doing nothing will destroy the system. They will be judged by history for failing to adequately explain a death in detention, Ticha said, and this lack of legitimacy will destroy the justice system.

Netiporn died on 14 May after suffering cardiac arrest following a hunger strike to call for judicial system reform and the release of political dissidents. Her death certificate said that she died from heart failure and asphyxiation, while the autopsy concluded that the cause of death was acute heart failure, electrolyte imbalance, and cardiomegaly (enlarged heart).

The 28-year-old activist was held in pre-trial detention on a royal defamation charge since 26 January, when her bail was revoked.  She had been on a hunger strike since 27 January.

Netiporn’s medical records from the Corrections Hospital, where she was held before her death, indicated that Netiporn had Re-feeding Syndrome, a condition caused by a severe shift in electrolytes when a person who is malnourished begins feeding again. It also stated that she was sent for a chest x-ray and a brain CT scan while CPR was being performed.  Her family questioned whether her CPR was interrupted when these tests were conducted. They also wondered why the time when efforts to resuscitate Netiporn began was recorded differently on different documents.

Lawyer Krisadang Nutcharus filed a request with the Criminal Court in June for an inquest, saying that there is enough evidence to suspect that Netiporn died at the Corrections Hospital, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ratchadapisek Criminal Court, and not at Thammasat University Hospital, where she was transferred and later pronounced dead.