<div>On International Women’s Day, police officers pressed charges against seven female villagers for opposing a local gold mine.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On 8 March 2016, officers from Wang Saphung Police Station <a href="http://prachatai.com/journal/2017/03/70476">pressed charges against seven villagers</a>&nbsp;for protesting against a local gold mine. The seven were accused of threatening officials and violating NCPO Head Order 3/2015, the junta’s ban on public gatherings of five people or more. </div>

<div> <div>A court has dismissed defamation charges filed by a gold mining company against local activists, ruling that the defendants deserve the right to reveal useful information to the public.&nbsp;</div> </div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><img alt="" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1496/26774976615_16c5597e79_o_d.jpg" /></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div> <div>On 9 November 2016, the Bangkok Criminal Court dismissed the lawsuit filed by Akara Resources Public Company Ltd against Somlak Hutanuwat and Thanyarat Si </div></div>

<div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Villagers from northeastern Loei Province have urged the military junta to allow villagers' participation in solving a conflict with a mine operator after the military junta intervened and tried to solve the issue without local participation.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The villagers in six villages in the province have been protesting against mining firms that set up operations to extract resources from the area for the past few years. </div></div>