BANGKOK — Thailand’s police chief has renewed the accusation that a 26-year-old Redshirt activist currently in exile supplied weapons to armed militants who fought with security forces during the political unrest in 2010.

Pol.Gen. Somyot Pumpanmuang said police found receipts of weapons purchases and money transfers that link Kritsuda Kunasen to the members of the militant group, known as the Blackshirts.

According to Pol.Gen. Somyot, Ms. Kritsuda, who is currently residing in Europe, kept records of illegal purchases of AK-47 rifles, RPGs, and M-79 grenade launchers in her home in Thailand. The documents were uncovered by police during a raid on her residence, Pol.Gen. Somyot claimed.

Police also found records that Mr. Kritsuda transferred up to "hundreds of thousands of baht” to accused members of the Blackshirt militants that were arrested last week, Pol.Gen. Somyot said.

"The prosecution of [Kritsuda] is in accordance with the evidence we have," Pol.Gen. Somyot said. "It's not a groundless accusation, or any attempt to discredit anyone."

Pol.Gen. Somyot’s comments came in response to accusations that Thai authorities had fabricated charges against Ms. Kritsuda after she accused the military of torturing her while she was in their custody.  

In May, Ms. Kritsuda was detained by the army without charges for 27 days, exceeding the seven-day limit on arbitrary detention that authorities respected for the majority of other detainees. After being released, Ms. Kritsuda fled to Europe and accused soldiers of abusing her during the detention – an allegation the military has vehemently denied.

Shortly after Ms. Kritsuda spoke out about her experience in military custody, Pol.Gen. Somyot accused her of engineering gunfire and grenade attacks on anti-government protesters who took to the streets in December 2013 – May 2014. It’s unclear why the military let Mr. Kritsuda walk free after her detainment.

The alleged connection between Ms. Kritsuda and the 2010 militants is the latest twist in the ongoing investigation into the mysterious Blackshirts. 

Four men and one woman suspected of belonging to the group were arrested this month.  However, many have questioned the likelihood that members of the Blackshirt cell are still in Thailand today; a number of sources report that those connected to the violence in 2010 fled the country several years ago.

In addition, it's still unclear why one of the suspects, Kittisak Soomsri, was reportedly detained incommunicado in a military camp for a week prior to the press conference announcing the five suspects' arrests. Mr. Kittisak confessed to the charges during the press conference, though Thai police have a history of parading suspects in front of the media and extracting confessions from them that are later retracted. 

Twenty civilians and five soldiers, including the commander of the operation, were killed on 10 April 2010 in the clashes between the Blackshirts and security forces who were cracking down on Redshirt protesters rallying in Bangkok at the time.

BANGKOK — A Court of Appeals has upheld the ten year jail sentence handed down to Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, the former editor of a pro-Redshirt magazine who has been accused of insulting the monarchy.

Somyot Prueksakasemsuk was found guilty of committing lese majeste by a criminal court in January 2013 for several articles published in the now-defunct Voice of Thaksin magazine in 2010. The court claimed the articles edited by Mr. Somyot defamed the monarchy, a criminal offence in Thailand that can be punished with  up to 15 years in prison.

Mr. Somyot, who turns 54 tomorrow, contested the verdict, arguing that he did not write the articles or have knowledge of their libelous nature.

But today, a Court of Appeals ruled that Mr. Somyot could not deny responsibility for articles published under his oversight, citing the 2007 Publishing Act. The judges also rejected Mr. Somyot's argument that the articles did not refer specifically to the monarchy, as all of the prosecutor's witnesses said the articles were clearly offensive towards the royal family.

"The witnesses did not personally know or have any dispute with the defendant," the verdict reads.

The court then sentenced Mr. Somyot to ten years in prison, upholding the previous ruling.

Mr. Somyot, a labour activist who later became a core leader of the pro-democracy movement following the 19 September coup in 2006, has been in prison since he was arrested in April 2011. The court has repeatedly denied his request for release on bail.

After hearing the verdict, Mr. Somyot told reporters that he would contest the ruling in Supreme Court. He was later escorted back to prison. It is unclear whether the Supreme Court will accept his appeal.

Thailand's draconian lese majeste law is considered to be one of the toughest in the world. Although the law theoretically covers only the King, Queen, Regent, and Heir-Apparent, in practice it is used to punish any discussion of the monarchy. 

Under the law, any member of the public can file a lese majeste complaint.

Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, who staged a coup on 22 May and is now the country’s Prime Minister, has vowed to crackdown on lese majeste offenders, who may now be tried in military courts. Since the coup, at least 16 people have been arrested in connection with charges of lese majeste. 

Read more:
UN Raises Alarm Over Post-Coup Lese Majeste Cases
Prayuth Vows Tougher Crackdown On Anti-Monarchists

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BANGKOK — Thailand’s Election Commission, which refused to organise elections earlier this year in Thailand, is now observing the referendum that will settle the question of Scotland's independence.

According to a statement given to the press, Election Commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn and a group of other EC officials traveled to Scotland on 11 September to observe the voting in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Residents in Scotland were asked on 18 September to cast ballots on the question, "Should Scotland remain in the United Kingdom?"

The EC officials are scheduled to stay in Scotland until 21 September.

In the statement, Mr. Somchai drew a distinction between the Scottish referendum and a Thai election, citing the "peaceful" nature of the former despite sharp differences of opinion.

"People who support the independence of Scotland and those who oppose it are friendly to each other," Mr. Somchai said. "Each side fought with reasons. There was no violence."

He also hailed Scotland's referendum organisers for their "strict impartiality."

The decision by the EC officials to travel to Scotland on taxpayer money is bound to baffle many back at home, where democracy has been suspended and separatism of any form is outlawed by the first section of the 2014 interim constitution. 

Mr. Somchai and the EC are also notorious for their reluctance to organise elections called by the government of former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who dissolved Parliament last December in the face of mounting anti-government protests.

The first snap election was scheduled to take place on 2 February with advance voting set on 24 January, but EC officials in many polling stations and voting districts simply closed down their posts, claiming pressure from anti-government protesters who sought to block the election. 

The protesters, led by the People's Committee for Absolute Democracy With the King As Head of State (PCAD), demanded that unspecified national reforms be implemented before an election. In April, the EC allowed PCAD protesters to enter the hall where election talks were being held and hang banners bearing anti-election slogans. 

After the Constitutional Court nullified the 2 Feb election result, the EC repeatedly resisted the government's attempt to organise another election, claiming that a new poll was not possible because of opposition from the PCAD. 

The new election, which was initially scheduled to take place on 20 July, never happened, as the military seized power and dissolved the government on 22 May.

Thailand's military rulers now say elections will be not be held until October 2015, and only if "national reconciliation" has been achieved and the political climate is deemed stable. 

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BANGKOK — The Thai military forced a group of activists to cancel their panel discussion on the demise of autocrat regimes around the world, citing the talk's potential to create "divisions in society."

The discussion, titled "Democracy Classroom: Fall of Foreign Dictators," was supposed to take place at a lecture hall in Thammasat University's Rangsit Campus on Thursday. The event was organised by League of Liberal Thammasat for Democracy (LLTD) and slated to feature several high-profile historians. 

Several hours before the scheduled event, organisers posted a letter on social media they reportedly received from the 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division instructing them to cancel the discussion. 

The letter claimed the activity risked violating the military junta's mission to restore peace and order and could create "divisions in society."

The activists later arrived at the venue to find the door locked by university staff, presumably to comply with the military order. Undeterred, LLTD activists and the historians moved the event to the ground level of the lecture hall and proceeded to broadcast the discussion live on Youtube. 

A group of police officers arrived approximately 30 minutes after the talk began and told the activists to immediately cease their activity. When the organisers attempted to continue the lecture, the police detained the speakers and took them to a nearby police station.

The detained speakers include Nidhi Eoseewong, Prajak Kongkirati, Chaowarit Chaowsangrat, Janjira Sombutpoonsiri. The academics, plus three students activists who were taken into police custody, were reportedly released at 9:30pm without charges.

The junta's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has banned all forms of political activity and public protest. Violators have been sent to face trials in military court. 

In a statement published on Friday, the president of The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) called the arrests "yet another ominous reminder of the military junta’s intolerance for any dissenting voices." 

The military previously forced a group of lawyers and activists to cancel their panel discussion on the status of human rights in junta-ruled Thailand. A spokesperson of the NCPO claimed the talk, aptly titled "Access to Justice in Thailand: Currently Unavailable," was blocked to prevent dissemination of false information and "prejudice."

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