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Detained Thai students to be released from jail, still face sedition charges
Agence France Presse - July 7, 2015
The activists, who are university students in their 20s, have been in custody since late June and will be released on Wednesday after the military court denied a police request to detain the activists for another 12 days.
The announcement after the military chief said they will not be released before facing military court, just a day before.
Thailand's ruling junta came under increasing pressure to drop the case against the 14 students after the case sparked international condemnation.
They were detained after holding a peaceful protest at Bangkok's Democracy Monument and charged with sedition, which carries up to seven years in jail. The group also faced another charge for breaching the junta order against public gatherings.
"The students have shown no sign of wanting to escape (the country). Detention is preventing them from fighting their case... They will be released later today," Krisadang Nutcharut, a lawyer representing the group said, adding that the charges against the group would still be pursued.
The case, slammed by rights groups as a serious escalation in repression by the junta, is being handled by Bangkok's military court where there is no right of appeal once convicted and hearings are often held behind closed doors.
Last week the European Union and the United Nations Human Rights Office added their voice to that of rights groups, calling on Thailand to drop the charges and free the activists from custody.
Thailand's generals claim the May 2014 coup was essential to restore order after months of often violent protests against the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra.
But opponents say it was the latest manoeuvre by Bangkok-based royalist elites, backed by large swathes of the military, to scupper democracy and protect their interests.
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