The police have detained a youth anti-junta activist after he tore up his ballot paper and shouted "dictatorship shall be ruined and democracy shall triumph."
A Facebook user named Thongtham Kaewpanpruek reported that at 12 noon on Sunday, 7 August 2016, the police detained Piyarat Jongthep, the head of the For Friends Association (FFA), an association providing assistance to political prisoners and dissidents.
Piyarat was detained after he travelled to a Bang Na District polling station in Bangkok and tore up his ballot paper before shouting the slogan “dictatorship shall be ruined and democracy shall triumph.”
He was also wearing a t-shirt with the message ‘No Coup’.
He is currently detained by the police for interrogation.
Under Article 59 of the controversial Public Referendum Act, people who tear up referendum ballot papers can be imprisoned for up to one year and fined up to 20,000 baht.
Piyarat Jongthep shouting the anti-junta slogan at a Bang Na District polling station in Bangkok on 7 August 2016 (Photo from Thongtham Kaewpanpruek)
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