The prosecution on Wednesday indicted 14 supporters of the defunct People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) on eight charges including insurrection for their role in street protests to oust the Yingluck Shinawatra government.
This was the third group of people to face several charges after months of "Bangkok shutdown" demonstrations. The charges included criminal association, illegal assembly and obstructing others from casting votes. They pleaded not guilty during their arraignment at the Criminal Court yesterday.
The defendants included activist monk Buddha Isra, TV host Anchalee Paireerak, Thai-Indian businessman Satish Sehgal, academic Kaewsan Atipo, former Democrat MP Rangsima Rodrassami, former senator Paiboon Nititawan and former National Security Council chief Thawil Pliensri.
The maximum penalty for insurrection is execution. The prosecution also asked the court to revoke the defendants' election rights for five years.
The court granted their request for temporary release on bail and set bail at 600,000 baht per head. They were told to not leave the country without court permission.
In January this year former PDRC leader Suthep Thaugsuban and eight others were indicted; all pleaded not guilty. Mr Suthep and Chumpol Julasai were also indicted for terrorism. It was the second such case.
The first case was against Seri Wongmontha, Sombat Thamrongthanyawong, Sonthiyan Chuenruethainaitham and Sakontee Phattiyakul who were indicted in 2014 and released on bail.
The street protests from November 2013 to May 2014 ended when the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) staged a coup on May 22. Mr Suthep yesterday turned up at the court to give the group moral support. In this third case, the court scheduled the examination of witnesses and evidence for March 19, the same day as the case against Mr Suthep and eight others.
Buddha Isra said yesterday he would consult with his lawyers to see if it was possible to ask the court to separate cases based on the defendants' behaviour so they did not have to attend hearings deemed irrelevant to them. The activist monk led the seizure of the government complex at Chaeng Watthana Road during the anti-Yingluck government protests.
Former Democrat MP for Rayong, Sathit Pitutecha, who also faced charges for his role in the former PDRC protests yesterday, reported to the Office of Attorney-General (OAG). His case was to be filed separately with the court next month.
