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Thailand junta detains protest organizer

Iran Press TV

Fri Jun 6, 2014 7:40AM GMT

Thailand's junta has arrested a senior organizer of anti-coup protests in the country as part of the army's attempt to suppress any criticism of its power seizure.

Army Spokeswoman Sirichan Ngathong said on Friday that Sombat Boonngamanong was arrested late Thursday in Chonburi Province southeast of Bangkok. He led an online campaign to hold rallies against the military takeover.

"We have a team who tracked him through the Internet," she said, adding that Sombat faces initial charges of "violating an order to report to the junta."

Sombat could receive a two-year jail term over the charges. He was one of the several hundred people, among them politicians, activists, academics and journalists, who were summoned by the army following its coup on May 22.

The activist refused to turn himself in and encouraged his followers to stage peaceful public protests.

According to a military official, whose name was not mentioned in the reports, Sombat would be detained at an army facility for up to one week.

"During that time, the military will question him on his movements, behavior and his incitement," said the official, noting that Sombat would then face further questioning by the police and appear before a military court.

Sombat is the leader of a faction of the "Red Shirts" movement, which backs fugitive former Premier Thaksin Shinawatra and his sister Yingluck, who was removed from office as prime minister on May 7 for "abusing power."

The coup leaders summoned Yingluck and held her temporarily at a secret location after the coup. She is said to have been freed since and allowed to go back home although she remains under military supervision.

Thailand was rocked by nearly seven months of mass opposition protests against Yingluck's government, which led to the coup. The junta has imposed martial law, media censorship and a night-time curfew as part of what it calls an attempt to end years of political turmoil.

MR/HJL/HMV