Suthep and 8 others formally indicted for “Bangkok Shutdown” anti-government protests

[realenglish1]

All I can say is "its about time" Suthep  does not believe in democracy He believes in brute force. This is one character that will harm a democracy not contribute anything to it 

 

 

[crazykopite]

The great escape will be under way very shortly after a couple of dress rehearsals one things for sure none of them will be going to prison !

[heybruce]

16 minutes ago, moto77 said:

Don't be silly. He's not going anywhere; he helped put Prayut in power. You think Prayut is going to watch Suthep go to jail? Not bloody likely. I wouldn't be surprised if Suthep requested the trial himself. 

This is a show trial in which all parties involved already know the outcome: Not guilty. Why would they have a show trial? So he can't be tried again for the same thing later under another government, of course. (Assuming we see another government in our lifetime.)

Prayut wants to stay in power, and may have concluded that Suthep is no longer useful, except as a distraction.

[heybruce]

2 minutes ago, realenglish1 said:

All I can say is "its about time" Suthep  does not believe in democracy He believes in brute force. This is one character that will harm a democracy not contribute anything to it 

 

Do you think Prayut is any different?

[JAS21]

5 hours ago, seminomadic said:

Good news. Put a muzzle on this PoS, please.

 

Remember that face, contorted and sinewy in self-righteous indignation, all those "THAKSIN PIT" punctuated speeches?

 

Look at that face now. Have a good look at his face in that picture above. That's the countenance of a true PoS. Can't hide it. Does it not tweak your punch reflex?

So you don't like him then! ... on the masters payroll ...

[realenglish1]

1 minute ago, heybruce said:

Do you think Prayut is any different?

This article is not about Prayut is about Suthep

[Denim]

An absolute farce for the benefit of Thai Joe Public and the several gullible members of TV forum who take absolutely everything at face value..

 

Just hope nobody ends their post with ' interesting times '

 

These are not interesting times, these are totally predictable and boorish times.

[lamyai3]

Dog and pony show. 

[RichardColeman]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

The charges against the nine former leaders who included Suthep Thaugsuban ranged from  insurrection, illegal assembly and obstructing elections

Someone else I can think of doing the same scot free

[tx22cb]

Fortunately for democracy, Suthep and his sniveling knaves have served their purpose, and are surplus to requirement.

The Real Powers Behind the Curtain have high hopes that "their people" will get elected in 2019, so do not want to encourage future insurrections.

[Srikcir]

1 hour ago, Siripon said:

There's the Lower Court, the Appeals Court and finally The Supreme Court.

The Office of the Attorney-General could try him directly in the Criminal Supreme Court and bypass the lower court system. Not the same as in Western judicial systems.

 

[Bob12345]

1 hour ago, Siripon said:

His case won't finish for several years, it may take ten years in all. There's the Lower Court, the Appeals Court and finally The Supreme Court. And all that time Suthep and his entourage will be out on bail.

It would normally take a decade, except when there is a need to speed it up. Yingluck's case came to a conclusion in a suspicious short time.

[ginjag]

4 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

What caught my attention was that few supporters turn out. Could mean that most of the Shutdown protestors were bused and paid and very little support from the Bangkokians (not that it’s news). Could also mean that most supporters now have realized that they have been fooled by the wily old fox and have now turned their backs. His political ambition looks like over. 

Have you forgotten all the free transport Thaksin provided to take his Issan army to burn BKK,  The object of his antics yes antics was that he was there to make the public fully aware of the rice and rushing through an amnesty for (Thaksin) and others.  I would have much preferred Abhisit than Yingluck or the coup.

[HarrySeaman]

I had a great time visiting the protests.  It was a lot like the "Make love, not war." protests in the '60's in the US,

Corner of Sukhumvit and Asoke

 

This was Asoke

and this was Sukhumvit.

 

I got some great t-shirts.

[soalbundy]

I suppose he still has his passport

[Minnehaha]

He is a thug. Indicted and I believe convicted of land dealing fraud in southern Thailand. He is a crook. 

- here is a game : name Thai politicians who are not convicted felons or indicted for crimes. 

Not easy. 

[Denim]

53 minutes ago, Bob12345 said:

It would normally take a decade, except when there is a need to speed it up. Yingluck's case came to a conclusion in a suspicious short time.

 

Not suspicious ,.....predictable.

[heybruce]

2 hours ago, realenglish1 said:

This article is not about Prayut is about Suthep

True, but your post was about people who harm democracy.  Prayut and Suthep have much in common.

[jesimps]

8 hours ago, seminomadic said:

Good news. Put a muzzle on this PoS, please.

 

Remember that face, contorted and sinewy in self-righteous indignation, all those "THAKSIN PIT" punctuated speeches?

 

Look at that face now. Have a good look at his face in that picture above. That's the countenance of a true PoS. Can't hide it. Does it not tweak your punch reflex?

It tweeks the toe of my boot to make contact with his blx,

[candide]

2 hours ago, HarrySeaman said:

I had a great time visiting the protests.  It was a lot like the "Make love, not war." protests in the '60's in the US,

Corner of Sukhumvit and Asoke

 

This was Asoke

and this was Sukhumvit.

 

I got some great t-shirts.

Peace and love! My @$$! Ask the people who wanted to vote!

[farcanell]

So.... these villains disrupted the nations peace, illegally interfered with the running of the country by the elected party, which resulted in a military overthrow.

 

? jail them... reinstate the rightfully elected party... dismiss the services of the generals, and all will be as it should be.

 

????? more like imprison political rivals, is what I’m thinking

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

5 hours ago, heybruce said:

It took four years of intense detective work, but they finally identified the ringleader of the mob!

Apparently nobody bothered to ask the folks at the OAG why it took them 4 years after the fact to file criminal charges against a group of people who were clearly publicly known and did their alleged actions pretty much in full public view for all to know and see???

 

 

[heybruce]

43 minutes ago, tryasimight said:

I was responding to the statement regarding democracy.  Thaksin was quite clear in his oft reported statement that democracy was not his goal. 

Make of that what you will. 

 

When did the democrats stage a coup? 

Thaksin came to power through elections.  Democracy may have been a means to an end for him, but it was how he came to power, and the only way he tried to continue in power.

 

Democrats don't stage coups, they let the military stage a coup then hand power to them.  That is how Abhisit became Prime Minister, and what the Democrats where hoping would happen after the 2014 coup.  That is why they supported Prayut.

[baboon]

4 hours ago, heybruce said:

Prayut wants to stay in power, and may have concluded that Suthep is no longer useful, except as a distraction.

Agreed. In this nest of vipers who can really say that Suthep will emerge unscathed or be thrown under the bus when need be?

[zaZa9]

I live in the South and he is not particularly liked down here.

Contrary to what people may think.

The rumour is that he has seconded  thousands of rai allocated to the poor.

It could be just a rumour of course...

[Basil B]

13 hours ago, Ricardo said:

 

I wonder whether the plan is to go with tradition, and have him escorted to the border by a policeman, if he looks in-danger of being convicted ?

Think he may not wear the right colour shirt...

[webfact]

Suthep, eight others plead not guilty to nine charges

By KESINEE TANGKHIEO 
THE NATION

 

NINE LEADERS of the anti-Yingluck government group whose protests culminated in the May 2014 military coup faced the Criminal Court yesterday to answer sedition and terrorism charges.

 

Suthep Thaugsuban, then-secretary-general of the now-defunct Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), and eight others who are politicians from the Democrat Party, all denied the nine charges.

 

The Criminal Court yesterday granted bail of Bt600,000 each for the nine defendants on the condition that they do not leave the country without court permission. The nine defendants earlier had offered a surety of Bt800,000 per person in applying for temporary release.

 

The court scheduled March 19 for their prosecution and for the defence to examine the lists of witnesses and evidence. 

Suthep yesterday said all the nine PDRC leaders agreed to fight the court battle whatever the final court verdict would be. 

 

“We believe in the Thai justice system,” he said, adding that they would not attempt to delay the trial, as had been alleged by some critics.

 

Suthep also said that the nine leaders should be the only defendants in the case, as they started “all the movement” while the other defendants simply played supporting roles.

 

In addition to the 69-year-old Suthep, the other defendants are Sathit Wongnongtaey, 57; Chumpol Julasai, 48; Buddhipong Punnakan, 50; Issara Somchai, 72; Witthaya Kaewparadai, 63; Thaworn Senneam, 71; Natthapol Thipasuwan, 52; and Ekkanat Promphan, 32.

 

Sedition, terrorism, belonging to a criminal organisation, unlawful gathering and obstructing an election were among the nine charges against them.

 

The PDRC held street protests at many locations in Bangkok for several months from November 2013 to May 2014 against the government of Yingluck Shinawatra. Many thousands of people took part in the protests. The political turmoil was used as an excuse for the military led by the then army chief Prayut Chan-o-cha to stage the coup. 

 

A key PDRC member, Sakoltee Phattiyakul, yesterday posted in his Facebook that he had no regrets about what he and his group had done. “If the clock turned back, (I) would do it again,” |he said in the post with hashtag #fight tooth and nail. 

 

During that period, Suthep and other PDRC leaders often led the protesters to the offices of different state agencies and asked their officials to join the rally. The PDRC held a large-scale Bangkok Shutdown campaign in early 2014 at seven key locations in the city, paralysing most of the capital.

 

The nine PDRC leaders are among the 58 people originally accused in the cases stemming from the anti-government protests between 2013 and 2014, Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) deputy spokesman Prayuth Phetkhun said yesterday. The accused people were leaders or key supporters of the demonstrations.

 

The Department of Special Investigation, during the Pheu Thai-led government, in May 2014, had requested the Attorney-General to bring the case to court. The public prosecutors later dropped the case against one of the accused, a lecturer at Thammasat University.

 

In May 2014, four of the accused – including academic Sombat Thamrongthanyawong and media celebrity Seree Wongmontha – were brought to court on the charge of sedition and other charges.

 

The remaining defendants have sought postponement of their appearance before court, the spokesman said yesterday.

 

Chartpong Jiraphan, deputy director-general of the Office of the Attorney-General’s Special Litigation Department, said yesterday that the agency would consider whether the defendants had provided justifiable reasons to seek postponement. If their reasons were found to be insufficient, they would be told to show up before court soon, he added.

 

An OAG working group on the case yesterday evening resolved that the 34 remaining defendants who failed to show up yesterday should report themselves to public prosecutors on March 14 regarding the charges against them, according to a source.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/politics/30337080

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-01-25

[George Bowman]

[metisdead]

Off topic deflection posts and replies have been removed.  

 

Another post containing a disguised vulgar term has been removed as well as the reply. 

[mettech]

He will go back to b e a monk again with personal protection and have a good life till the junta goes away to a more civil law regime.