77 civil society organizations have petitioned for the President of the Supreme Court to grant bail to five protesters detained pending appeal over an incident on 14 October 2020, when they were accused of trying to block a royal motorcade on Phitsanulok Road during an anti-government protest.

The petition was filed by representatives of the organizations, including Ticha Nanakorn, Director of the Ban Kanchanapisek Juvenile Vocational Training Centre for Boys; Chuwit Chantaros, Secretary-General of the Child, Youth, and Family Foundation; Bangkok Hub representative Jiraphong Inkong; and Amnat Paenprasoet, brother of community activist Suranat Paenprasoet, who is among the detained protesters.

The petition states that the principle of presumption of innocence and the right to bail are both enshrined in the Thai Constitution, and since a final verdict has not been reached, Suranat should be treated as innocent. Detaining him and the other protesters goes against fundamental human rights and legal principles. Granting them bail is the protection of their rights, not special treatment.

Ticha Nanakorn

Ticha said that the five protesters have a constitutional right to file for bail. She noted that the Department of Corrections has requested a budget from the Cabinet to purchase electronic monitoring (EM) bracelets to reduce the number of detainees in prisons, prevent defendants from fleeing, and protect their right to bail. The network would like the same policy to apply to the five defendants in this case as well.

Meanwhile, Amnat said that Suranat has dedicated his life to community development projects. He has worked with young people, run creative spaces, and worked on drug and domestic violence prevention campaigns. Granting him bail would be giving an opportunity for him to continue to work with communities.

Amnat also noted that Suranat’s wife and mother both have health issues and that he is the main breadwinner in the family.

Jiraphong Inkong

Jiraphong said that Bangkok Hub’s community projects have been put on hold since Suranat’s detention as he is the lead on these projects. He asked that Suranat be granted bail to continue his work, which is in the interest of the public. He guarantees that Suranat is not a flight risk, and that he could be required to wear an EM bracelet to make sure.

Suranat was charged along with Ekachai Hongkangwan, Boonkueanoon Paothong, and two other protesters  with harming the Queen or her liberty under Section 110 of the Thai Criminal Code when they were accused of blocking the royal motorcade of Queen Suthida and Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti during the 14 October 2020 protest.

Amnat Paenprasoet submitting the petition to a Supreme Court representative

The Criminal Court initially found them not guilty, ruling that the incident was the result of a misunderstanding and noting that even police crowd control officers at the scene were not notified ahead of time that a royal motorcade was coming. However, the Appeal Court overturned the ruling, finding them guilty. Boonkueanoon, Suranat, and the two unnamed protesters were sentenced to 16 years in prison, while Ekachai was sentenced to 21 years and 4 months.

They were denied bail after the Supreme Court deemed them a flight risk. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said that they were moved from the Bangkok Remand Prison on 12 September to the Klong Prem Central Prison, a maximum security prison in the same complex which holds detainees facing a sentence of at least 15 years.