Appeals Court drops intrusion case against Jon Unghakorn and nine others

[webfact]

Appeals Court drops intrusion case against Jon Unghakorn and nine others

BANGKOK: -- The Appeals Court late this morning dropped charges against media activist Jon Ungphakorn along with nine others from civil society organisations in Thailand for their forced entry into the premises of Parliament during a rally in 2006.

They were arrested in Bangkok on 30 December 2010 for violating seven provisions of the penal code.

The provisions mainly deal with offenses related to public gathering of more than 10 people, invasion on public premises that cause damage to the properties or disturbing the peace of their owners, and instigation of public unrest and violence against the state with an intention to undermine the key democratic institutions.

These provisions mainly deal with offenses related to public gathering of more than 10 people, invasion on public premises that cause damage to the properties or disturbing the peace of their owners, and instigation of public unrest and violence against the state with an intention to undermine the key democratic institutions.

Named in the suit as first defendant was Supinya Klangnarong, secretary-general of the Campaign for Popular Media Reform.

Supinya, now a member of the National Briadcasting and Telecommunication Board, was formally charged before the Criminal Court along with Jon Ungphakorn, chairperson of the NGO Coordinating Committee on Development; Pairoj Polpetch, secretary-general of UCL; Sirichai Mai-ngarm, member of the labor union of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand; Suwit Kaewwan, leader of the Confederation of State Enterprise Labor Union; Saree Ongsomwang, chairperson of the Consumers’ Association; Amnat Palamee, leader of the Confederation of State Enterprise Labor Union; Nutzer Yeehama, a member of the Friend of People NGO; Aninut Chaosanit, member of the Council of People’s Organization Network in Thailand; and Pichit Chaimongkol, member of the Campaign for Popular Democracy.

The Criminal Court earlier sentenced the first to 4th and 7th to 8th defendants to two years in prison and a 9,000 baht fine each, while the 5th, 6th, 9th and 10th defendants were given one year jail term and 9,000 baht fine.

However the first court commuted their jail sentence with two year extended jail term after considering tha all defendants have not committed any crimes in the past and their actions were done with good faith to protect the country’s interest.

The case stemmed from a non-violent rally on 12 December 2006 wherein the accused and their colleagues protested in front of Parliament against the passage of eight bills by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA).

The NLA’s members were appointed by the military after the coup d’etat that toppled PM Thaksin Shinawatrat on 19 September 2006.

The accused claimed that the bills would infringe upon the civil liberties of Thais and undermine democracy in the kingdom. One of these bills was later enacted as the Computer Crime Act of 2007, which has proven to be controversial as critics claim it has broadly-worded provisions that are open to abuse and penalties that are harsher than their counterpart in the penal code.

However, when the lawmakers ignored the protesters, the 10 accused led some 100 others to enter the premises of Parliament by climbing the fence, entered the building and demanded that the legislative session be stopped.

The accused claimed that their rally and subsequent entry into the Parliament premises were non-violent.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/appeals-court-drops-intrusion-case-jon-unghakorn-nine-others


-- Thai PBS 2014-11-26

[Emster23]

Took them long enough! Is this trying to set some precedent or signal regarding Suthep, that monk isharwa (or whatever his name is) regarding their mass "intrusions"?