Human rights lawyer Anon Nampa granted 3-month conditional bail

Political activist and human rights lawyer, Anon Nampa, has been granted bail by the Bangkok South Criminal Court. The Ratsadon pro-democracy group leader has been in custody for over 200 days, on charges of lèse majesté and other charges related to political protests.

His temporary release was tweeted by Norasate Nanongtoom of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights. According to Norasate, the Bangkok South Criminal Court says Anon offered his own bail terms, which include refraining from doing anything to insult, criticise, or otherwise defame the monarchy, as well as not participating in any activities that could cause unrest in Thailand.

According to a Thai PBS World report, Anon has been in and out of prison 7 times in the last year. In August 2020, he became the first person to publicly call for reform of the monarchy. Norasate says bail was set at 200,000 baht and Anon has been released until May 28. At the end of that period, he has the right to re-apply, but equally, the court can revoke bail at any stage if Anon fails to comply with the agreed conditions. They include:

• Refraining from undertaking any activities which may offend the monarchy or the court
• Refraining from undertaking any activities which may disrupt court proceedings
• Refraining from posting any message in a way which provokes, incites, or persuades people to join a protest
• Refraining from participating in protests or in online forums which may cause unrest in the country
• Remaining at home between 7pm and 6am, with the exception of seeking hospital treatment or with approval from the court
• Not leaving Thailand without the court’s permission
• Reporting to the court every 30 days while out on bail
• Wearing an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet

Last week, fellow pro-democracy activist Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak was also released on 3 months bail under similar conditions. He too has spent over 200 days in detention on similar charges.

SOURCE: Thai PBS World