The court in Mukdahan has granted bail to 7 red shirts charged only with trespassing, and denied it to 19 others who are also charged with burning down the provincial hall. About 70 more suspects are still wanted by the police.

On 16 Aug, Mukdahan provincial court examined the testimonies of 26 red shirts indicted by the public prosecutor on 11 Aug for trespassing at the provincial hall, committing arson and destroying public property during the unrest on 19 May.

On that day, 19 of those charged and many others who are still at large burnt down two buildings in the provincial hall compound, causing damage worth 85 million baht, and damaged 4 municipal fire trucks worth 74,490 baht, the public prosecutor says.

15 were arrested during the incident, and other arrests were made subsequently on various dates, with two turning themselves in.  Police also seized a tricycle which the defendants allegedly used to transport tyres to make the fire.

All defendants denied the charges both during police investigations and in court.
The court granted bail to 7 defendants who were prosecuted only for trespassing, with a guarantee of 100,000 baht each.

One suspect confessed to the police, and was not indicted by the prosecution.

Police have issued a total of 97 arrest warrants in this case; 70 suspects are still wanted.

A family member of one defendant expressed doubts about how the police had decided which charges to make, because among those arrested on the day of the incident, some were charged with trespassing but some with arson, despite the fact that they were similarly arrested outside the compound.