A Thammasat University student was detained but later released after staging a solo protest against the attendance of Myanmar junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hliang at the 6th Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit in Bangkok. No charges were filed against him.

On Friday (5 April), Pom (pseudonym), a first-year university student, staged a lone protest at the Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok's Bang Rak district, where the BIMSTEC summit was taking place.

As security guards escorted him out of the hotel, he exclaimed:

"Thailand does not welcome the murderous dictator Min Aung Hlaing. This summit is stained with the blood of over 6,000 innocent people. How did PM Paetongtarn feel about shaking his bloodstained hands?  All of you attending this summit should feel ashamed; you claim to be democratic but dine and celebrate with a military dictator who kills innocent people. Thailand should stand with the Myanmar people. Thai people do not accept this murderous dictator.”

The university student was apprehended by police and taken to the Yannawa Police Station. He was released later the same day and not subjected to any charges.

According to a lawyer from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, Pom was taken to the police station for questioning, as he reportedly needed permission to be in the area where he staged the protest and had not obtained it.

The lawyer added that although no charges were filed today, legal action would probably follow, as the police were gathered evidence and their report could be used to pressure and deter him from engaging in similar activities in the future.