BANGKOK — The fourteen activists charged with sedition for their peaceful anti-junta campaigns have been released from prison, though they are still facing a trial in martial court and up to seven years in jail.

The fourteen, eleven of whom are university students, were arrested on 26 June after they organized a small pro-democracy rally in Bangkok last month. A military court ordered the group to await trial in prison, but decided to release them yesterday after 12 days, accepting their lawyers' argument that the defendants had no intention to flee the country or interfere with the evidence. 

However, a prison official said yesterday that the activists would not be released until this morning because prison regulations prohibit releasing  inmates at night.

Supporters and families of the fourteen activists camped out over night in front of Bangkok Remand Prison and Bangkok Central Women Correctional Institution, where thirteen men and one woman were held respectively, to await their release. 

At around 6 am, a large van drove out of the prison building compound, prompting supporters to run after the vehicle. The van stopped just outside the prison's outer gate, and the thirteen male activists stepped out of the vehicle to loud cheers from the crowd. 

Rangsiman Rome, one of the activists, told Matichon that he and others were well treated by prison wardens throughout their 12 days detention. He said he had to consult with his friends about the group’s next move.

"I insist that we will continue to fight," Rangsiman told Matichon. "I will not only ask for democracy. These arrests were not the end, but a new beginning of our struggle." 

He also said he and other activists never considered posting bail to secure their release because they believe the martial court has no legitimacy to try civilians.

The fourteenth activist, 22-year-old Chonticha Chaengrew, arrived in front of Bangkok Remand Prison later because officials from the women’s prison reportedly insisted on driving her her home, even though no one was there at the time.

The fourteen activists, who call themselves the New Democracy Movement, are still facing up to 7.5 years in prison for charges of violating the junta’s ban on public gatherings and "inciting unrest." They are also facing additional outstanding arrest warrants for organizing anti-junta demonstrations on the one-year anniversary of the 22 May coup d'etat. 

In addition to Rangsiman and Chonticha, the group includes Ratthapol Supasopon, Songtham Kaewpanpruek, Pornchai Yuanyee, Pakorn Arrekul, Abhisit Sapnaphana, Jaturapak Boonpatararaksa, Apiwat Suntararak, Payu Bunsophon, Panupong Srithananuwat, Suwitcha Thipangkorn, Supachai Pukrongploy, and Wasan Sethsitthi.

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BANGKOK — Leading members of the ruling military junta and the Royal Thai Navy have insisted that a plan to buy three submarines from China is necessary to augment Thailand's national defense capabilities.

A Navy committee approved the plan to buy the three subs last week for 36 billion baht. The purchase is currently pending final approval from the Cabinet, which is headed by junta chairman and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who was chief of the army when he came to power through a coup in May 2014.

Although Thailand’s navy has maintained a submarine division, it has lacked a single vessel for the last 63 years. The army stripped the navy of its submarines in 1951 after naval officers attempted to stage a coup d'etat against the army-backed government at the time. 

Thailand’s social media has been awash with criticism of the new plan to purchase submarines, with commentators noting the enormous price tag, and questioning whether submarines are indeed vital to Thailand's strategic needs, as the country is not entangled in any major conflict with neighbors, and has not been invaded by sea since 1941.

"What the hell do you want from me?” Gen. Prayuth said today in response to the criticism.  "We have to look at the submarine issue step-by-step. If they can be bought, we have to see whether we need to buy them. Do we need them for combat, or not? Are we fighting anyone, or not? Do we have to take care of our resources, or not? Do we only have the Gulf of Thailand as our sea? We also have the Andaman Sea, do we not? Don't we have to protect our maritime resources? We won't keep them to fight or shoot at any one. We will keep them so that other people will be considerate of us. How we will maintain our navigation and fishing? You can see that other countries have problems in their seas. We have to think, are we going to have problems in the future? It's all about capability." 

When a reporter asked whether his government is attempting to strengthen ties with China by buying submarines manufactured there, he replied, "There is no need for that. We have a good relationship with China already. Every country is good to us, except those who are still stuck on the word 'democracy'. I'm not telling you this to show off." 

Meanwhile, Admiral Kraison Chansuwanit, the commander of the Thai Navy, said the public should refrain from commenting on what he described as the navy’s internal matters.

"I don't want the public to criticize us at this time. They have to think that each person has their own duty. The armed forces are the fence of the nation. I am a Navy officer, so I am responsible for the Navy. Each person should look to their own duty. Don't interfere with each other. Learn to listen. Don't only criticize, because the opportunity to have or buy submarines is hard to come by. It will take seven years just to acquire the submarines. And then we will train our force."

Adm. Kraison also said that the submarine fleet would come in handy in the event of war.

"If a war breaks out, nearly all of our surface ships will be wiped out. Submarines are what will survive,” he said. “I don't understand why we can't buy submarines, but we can buy other things. When I talk about submarines, people think about this and that. The Gulf of Thailand isn't so shallow that we can't use submarines. We have already studied it in details." 

The admiral then explained that China has offered Thailand the best deal: three submarines with free weapons and spare parts. 

"You should trust in the Navy," Adm. Kraison said. "If you only think ‘this cannot be done, that cannot be done,’ then you should just serve in the Navy so that you will know how things really are. It's not easy to be Navy officers. People who have to be on ships or dive in the submarines for 21 days and not see any sun or moon, how much they have sacrificed for the country. You say it will cost a lot of money to buy submarines. Well, it's my money, too. It's the money of all of us, because it's tax money." 

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BANGKOK — The secretary-general of Thailand's ruling military junta has urged Thais living abroad to explain the reasons behind the May 2014 coup d'etat to foreigners.

"I want all of you who live abroad to explain the situation in our country to foreigners, so that they can understand what happened," said Gen. Chatchalerm Chalermsuk. "That the military does not want to hold on to power, and how we have been trying to restore peace in the country and move the nation forward, and enforce the laws." 

Gen. Chatchalerm made the remark in an address to representatives of a Boston-based Thai charity who met with him at Government House in Bangkok to donate one million baht to soldiers stationed in southern Thailand to combat a separatist insurgency. 

Gen. Chatchalerm said he has been explaining to foreign government officials during trips abroad that the military was forced to stage the coup on 22 May 2014 because the country’s political situation had reached a dead end.

"I have traveled to the United States and Australia to explain that this government will move along our road map, which will lead to an election," Gen. Chatchalerm said. "In the past, we had no exit, because the [former] government would not resign … And there were groups that came out to oppose the government. The military was afraid that it would lead to clashes. We could not let the situation to escalate beyond our control." 

The coup followed six months of street protests organized by a conservative, royalist movement called the People's Committee for Absolute Democracy With the King As Head of State (PCAD), which sought to replace then-Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra with a new leader directly appointed by the king. Nearly 30 people died in the protests, largely due to attacks on the protest camps committed by suspected pro-Yingluck militants, and clashes between protesters and security officers. 

On 7 May 2014, the Constitutional Court removed Yingluck from office for allegedly transferring an official without due cause, and the military staged a coup against the remnants of her government two weeks later. 

In today's speech, Gen. Chatchalerm also said he was concerned that some Thais are distorting information about the monarchy and the Kingdom’s lese majeste law, which forbids any criticism of the Royal Family. 

"Some people have fled their lese majeste charges to the United States. I don't know what the King has ever done wrong to these people," Gen. Chatchalerm said. "They have distorted the facts by saying that lese majeste has been used to score political gain. They break the laws, but they don't accept it when they are arrested. I have already explained to farang [Westerners] that His Majesty the King and the Royal Family would not file libel charges on their own, so officials must do it instead. We have never used this law for political gain."

Thailand’s lese majeste law, the harshest of its kind in the world, punishes any action or comment deemed negative of the monarchy with up to 15 years in prison. 

The number of lese majeste cases has spiked considerably since the May 2014 coup, which was led by staunch royalist Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha. Nearly 50 people have been charged with lese majeste over the past year, and more than half of them have been denied bail while they await trial, according to iLaw, a watchdog group that tracks legal cases in Thailand.

BANGKOK — The fourteen activists jailed for their peaceful protests against the military junta will spend one more night in jail after the martial court ruled to release them this morning, according to a top prison official.

The fourteen, eleven of whom are university students, were arrested on 26 June after they organized a small demonstration against the junta in front of Bangkok’s Democracy Monument.

A military court ordered the group to await trial in prison, but decided to release them after 12 days this morning. The activists’ lawyers argued in court today that the fourteen defendants had no intention to flee the country or interfere with the evidence. 

However, Witthaya Suriyawong, chief of the Correctional Department, said prison officials are required to detain the fourteen activists until the 12-day detention session expires at precisely one minute past midnight.

Prison regulations also forbid releasing prisoners at "night time," which means the fourteen will not be released until tomorrow at 8 am, he said. 

According to Witthaya, the regulation applies to both Bangkok Remand Prison and the Bangkok Central Women Correctional Institution, where the thirteen men and one woman are being detained, respectively. 

"We have to release them tomorrow morning," Witthaya told reporters. 

The news of the delay has angered some the group’s supporters, who were planning to assemble outside of the two prisons tonight to welcome the activists.

Over the past 12 days, the jailing of the activists has sparked the largest public show of dissent against Thailand’s military junta since the first week after the 22 May 2014 coup. Hundreds of people in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and cities around the world have staged demonstrations to show their support for the group and demand their immediate release.

The 14 activists, who call themselves the New Democracy Movement, are facing up to 7.5 years in prison for charges of sedition and violating the junta’s ban on public gatherings with their peaceful rallies. They are also still facing additional outstanding arrest warrants for organizing anti-junta demonstrations on the one-year anniversary of the 22 May coup d'etat. 

The 14 activists include Rangsiman Rome, Chonticha Chaeng-rew, Ratthapol Supasopon, Songtham Kaewpanpruek, Pornchai Yuanyee, Pakorn Arrekul, Abhisit Sapnaphana, Jaturapak Boonpatararaksa, Apiwat Suntararak, Payu Bunsophon, Panupong Srithananuwat, Suwitcha Thipangkorn, Supachai Pukrongploy, and Wasan Sethsitthi.

The last seven are members of Dao Din, a social justice group formed by law students at Khon Kaen University. 

BANGKOK — Bangkok's military court has ordered to release fourteen anti-junta activists from prison while they await trial on sedition charges for leading a peaceful pro-democracy rally last month.

The fourteen activists – eleven of whom are university students – were ordered to spend 12 days in prison by the court after they were arrested on 26 June for wrapping black banners around Bangkok's Democracy Monument.

They were charged with inciting unrest, which carries up to seven years in prison, and violating the junta’s ban on public gatherings, which has been in place since the May 2014 coup that overthrew a democratic government.

Today, the court ruled that there was no "necessary reason" to continue to detain the activists, which was considered a small victory for the group, who has insisted that authorities release them without any conditions, and vowed not to post any bail because they do not recognize the martial court's legitimacy to try civilians. 

The activists' lawyers approach Bangkok's martial court on 7 July 2015.

The fourteen are expected to be freed from their respective prisons tomorrow morning, prison officials said. The thirteen male activists are currently being held at Bangkok Remand Prison, while a female activist has been detained at Bangkok’s Central Women Correctional Institution. 

Supporters of the 14 activists, who have held daily rallies calling for the group's release, are planning to gather in front of the two prisons tonight to welcome them. 

Over 100 people also gathered in front of the martial court in Bangkok today to show support for the 14 dissidents while the military judges deliberated on their release. 

An middle-aged man caused a small commotion in front of the court when he approached the crowd with a sign that read "Good dictatorship is better than evil democracy," causing the protesters to boo the man. Police officers quickly escorted him away from the scene. 

All 14 activists are still facing additional outstanding arrest warrants for organizing anti-junta demonstrations on the one-year anniversary of the 22 May coup d'etat.