Lawyers alert Thai students to hunger strike

Two of the leaders of Thai democracy protests, who cast explosive criticism of the ruling monarchy last year, are on hunger strike and worsening health, according to their lawyers and relatives.

Chiwarak’s “Penguin” breed i Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul they have been refusing to eat in Bangkok prison in recent weeks to protest the Thai judicial authorities ’decision to deny them bail while awaiting trial for lese majesty (royal insult) and other charges.

Both are students at Thammasat University who belonged to a faction of radical protesters who demanded the powers and wealth of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, The billionaire head of state of Thailand, to be limited.

The protests were different from those the kingdom had seen in recent years in the audacity of the demands. But these demands violated Thailand’s harsh laws that protected the king and his family from criticism, including the majesty’s injury, which sentences a maximum sentence of 15 years. The couple has been in jail since February.

Parit announced the hunger strike on March 15 and has been rejecting anything but liquids, according to Krisadang Nutcharut, one of his lawyers. “We tried to ask the court to allow him bail because we believe his condition is dangerous to the point of losing his life,” Krisadang told the Financial Times.

Parit was “clearly extremely thinner,” prone to fatigue easily and can’t stand without support, he said. The activist is receiving a saline drip.

“I’m worried about his health right now,” said Paopoom Chiwarak, a cousin of the jailed activist. “First of all, Parit is not a very healthy person.”

Panusaya, who began the hunger strike on April 5, looked tired, but “it wasn’t as bad as Penguin’s case,” said Krisadang, who also advises her.

The students were arrested as part of a decisive crackdown on the leaders of the protest that began late last year. According to Thai human rights lawyers, who also advise activists, there are at least 17 people detained in connection with protests or political participation.

“Penguin has become weaker and there is more concern about prison conditions now that Covid-19 has been extended to the Bangkok pretrial detention facility where he and others are being held,” he told Sir FT June Sirikan, lawyer for the group.

The Thai Department of Corrections told the FT that Parit and Panusaya’s health was monitored “every day, many times a day,” including body temperature, hydration levels and blood pressure.

It was said that the two students were also closely monitored on a closed circuit television 24 hours a day in case they needed help and that he had prepared to take them to the hospital in case of an emergency.

The department did not comment on his bail requests, which he said were outside his area of ​​responsibility.

In addition to the majesty, the two activists have been charged with sedition and other alleged related crimes. a protest in September in Sanam Luang, the “royal land” in front of the Grand Palace in Bangkok. The demonstration was the largest in 2020 and protesters planted a plaque stating that Thailand belonged “to the people, not the king, as they were deceiving us”.

The protest movement has slowed this year after a wave of arrests and a more forceful response from police, who have used water cannons, tear gas and blockades to thwart the protests. After refraining from using the lese majeste in recent years, the Thai authorities have filed multiple charges under the law and have closed some pending cases.

Anchan Preelert, a former civil servant, was convicted in February on various charges of violating the law and received a record sentence of more than 43 years in prison.

Sirikan said Paris “wanted the world to pay some attention to the situation in Thailand, not just its case, but what is happening right now.”

She added: “She said the world should witness her suffering and torment, which have been the managements of the government and the powers that have been.”

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