The military court on Tuesday granted bail to a red-shirt suspect accused of posting a forged royal statement after he had been jailed on remand for seven days.
On Tuesday, the military court granted 400,000 baht bail to Krit B. Earlier last Friday, the court denied him bail, citing flight risk.
The military court’s decision on Friday was highly criticized because the court had granted bail to Nirad Yaowapa, a former editor of the ultra-royalist ASTV-Manager Online, who faced the same charge.
According to Winyat Chatmontree, the lawyer from Free Thai Legal Aid who is representing Krit, the judge who presided over the bail request on Tuesday is different from the one last Friday.
Winyat told Prachatai that Krit admitted that he posted the statement on his Facebook account, but deleted it after a few seconds. The statement, however, was automatically posted on his twitter account, linked to his Facebook account.
Krit B. was accused of posting a forged statement of the Bureau of the Royal Household, which said King Bhumibol had decided to appoint a Regent to act on his behalf, on his Facebook page on 2 February.
He was arrested by more than ten military and police officers at his house in central Phetchabun Province at 1 am on 3 February. The officers interrogated him at a nearby police station for around three hours before searching the houses of two of his friends. Krit was then detained at a military camp for seven days before being detained at the Bangkok Central Remand Prison for another seven days.
Krit is an active member of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), the main faction of the anti-establishment red shirts.
Krit reunites with his family after the military court grants bail.
Prachatai English is an independent, non-profit news outlet committed to covering underreported issues in Thailand, especially about democratization and human rights, despite pressure from the authorities. Your support will ensure that we stay a professional media source and be able to meet the challenges and deliver in-depth reporting.
• Simple steps to support Prachatai English
1. Bank transfer to account “โครงการหนังสือพิมพ์อินเทอร์เน็ต ประชาไท” or “Prachatai Online Newspaper” 091-0-21689-4, Krungthai Bank
2. Or, Transfer money via Paypal, to e-mail address: [email protected], please leave a comment on the transaction as “For Prachatai English”