The criminal court in northern Chiang Rai Province on Tuesday started a trial against three red shirts for hanging a cloth banner allegedly calling for a northern rising up against Bangkok.
According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), the three defendants, who prefer to identify themselves only as Ood, Tanomsi and Suksayam, denied all allegations and have been released on 120,000 baht bail each.
They were charged under Article 116 of the Criminal Code which carries a jail term of up to seven years for instigating uprisings and violence.
A few weeks after the failed general election in February 2014 due to obstruction by the anti-election, pro-establishment People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), on 26 February 2014, the three red-shirt supporters allegedly hung a cloth banner reading “This country has no justice. We want to separate Lanna (from Thailand).” The banner was hung on a pedestrian bridge in front of Central Plaza Chiang Rai shopping mall. Banners of a similar kind were also found in northern Chiang Mai and Phitsanulok provinces. The banners fuelled political conflict between the pro-establishment yellow shirts, mostly composed of people from Bangkok and the South, and the anti-establishment red shirts, mostly composed of people from the North and the Northeast.
Four prosecution witnesses testified before the court on Tuesday: a Chiang Rai police officer, a Chiang Rai military intelligence officer, a security guard at Central Plaza, and a tuk-tuk taxi driver based at the shopping mall.
During the Tuesday hearing, the court prohibited observers in the courtroom from recording the proceedings in any way.
The examination of prosecution witnesses continues on Thursday and Friday, while defence witness will be heard on 19 May.