Court drops charges against Thailand's protest leaders (Roundup)

Bangkok - Thailand's Appeals Court on Thursday revoked arrest warrants and treason charges put out on nine leaders of the anti-government movement that clashed with police earlier this week, leaving two dead and more than 400 injured. 'The arrest warrants and treason charges have been revoked, but the nine defendants still face less serious charges of resisting arrest and gathering illegally,' said Suwat Apaipak, lawyer for the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which has been staging demonstrations against the government since May. Treason carries a maximum sentence of death in Thailand. The lesser charges the PAD leaders now face carry a maximum sentence of seven years imprisonment. Police on August 27 charged the nine PAD leaders with treason and issued warrants for their arrest for masterminding the seizure of Government House, the seat of government, on August 26. The PAD is a loose coalition of conservative groups staunchly opposed to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his political allies, who now run the government. The movement has occupied Government House for the past month-and-a-half, forcing the government to take up temporary offices in Bangkok's domestic airport at Don Mueang. PAD leaders Chaiwat Sinsuwong and Chamlong Srimuang were arrested over the weekend, paving the way for the anti-government movement to stage a protest outside Parliament on Tuesday that led to a violent confrontation between police and thousands of PAD followers that left two dead and some 440 injured. Both men were released on bail Thursday. The other seven, including media tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul and former labour leader Somcak Kohsaisuk, have thus far refused to leave Government House, now PAD headquarters. Sondhi said now that the treason charges have been dropped, they would surrender to police. The police crackdown on the PAD to clear the road outside Parliament to allow a meeting of the lower and upper houses Tuesday has drawn widespread public criticism, although it remains unclear if many of the most serious injuries in the incident were caused by the police or the protestors, some of whom were reportedly armed with small explosives. Although Bangkok has largely returned to normal, the confrontation between the PAD and the government remains unresolved. The PAD is calling for the dissolution of the government under Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat on the claim that the current government is a proxy for Thaksin. Somchai is the brother-in-law of Thaksin, who is currently living in self-exile in London where he and his family have sought political asylum. Thaksin faces several corruption charges dating back to his two-term premiership between 2001 to 2006, and his wife Pojaman has been sentenced to three years in prison for tax evasion. He was ousted by a coup on September 19, 2006. The PAD, which is staunchly pro-monarchy and highly critical of the type of 'money politics' Thaksin came to represent, has drawn many of Bangkok's middle class to its ranks and enjoys the tacit support of members of Thailand's political elite.