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'The arrest warrants and treason charges have been revoked, but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.
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