BANGKOK —The Thai military junta has summoned a Redshirt activist that a human rights group says has not been seen since she was arrested by the military three weeks ago.

Kritsuda Khunasen, 27, was arrested by soldiers on 28 May in Chonburi province, but the military has declined to release any information about her detention or whereabouts, Human Rights Watch reports. She has been missing for three weeks, which exceeds the seven-day limit under martial law on detaining individuals without charges.

Last night, the military ordered Ms. Kritsuda, along with 33 others, to report to the Army Club in Bangkok by noon today or face charges and possible trial in military court.

“Summoning someone already in custody raises concerns that the authorities may be preparing to cover up a disappearance and that something may have happened to Kritsuda,” said Brad Adams, the US-based Asia Director at Human Rights Watch. “The best way to prove this is not the case is to release her unharmed.” 

Ms. Kritsuda has been a public advocate of the Redshirt movement, which supported the government that was overthrown by the military coup on 22 May. For the past several years, Ms. Kritsuda has been providing humanitarian and legal support to other Redshirt activists that have been charged and detained for their alleged involvement in violent Redshirt political protests in 2010.

The military junta’s National Council for Peace and Order has summoned and detained more than 300 politicians, activists, and academics over the past few weeks. The majority of those who are summoned are allied with the Redshirt movement. So far, Ms. Kritsuda is the only known case of a detainee that has not been released after seven days.

“We suspect foul play,” said a Human Rights Watch official who has been following the case closely. “In this context foul play could mean forced disappearance, which is a crime under international law.” The official asked to remain anonymous to avoid persecution by the NCPO, which has moved to silence critics and already blocked Human Rights Watch’s webpage on Thailand. 

It is unclear whether Ms. Kritsuda remains in military custody, and if so, why she has not been released. Ms. Kritsuda was not as high-profile or outspoken as a number of other Redshirt activists that have all been released after no more than seven days. 

BANGKOK – A prominent Thai law professor has been released on bail after being charged for defying a summons order from the military junta.

Police escorted Worachet Pakeerat to martial court this afternoon and requested permission to detain the academic for 12 more days of questioning. The court denied the request after Mr. Worachet's lawyer provided 20,000 baht for his release on bail. Mr. Worachet was released on the condition that he not participate in any political rallies. 

Shortly after staging a coup d’etat last month, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) summoned Mr. Worachet and other progressive academics to report to the Army club.  Mr. Worachet has been a vocal critic of Thailand’s draconian lese majeste (insult of monarchy) laws, which the NCPO has made a point of enforcing vigorously.

Mr. Worachet, who taught law at Thammasat University and co-founded the pro-democracy group "Enlightened Jurists" (Nitirart), initially refused to report to the military, citing his poor health.

On Monday, police arrested Mr. Worachet in Don Mueng airport in Bangkok after he arrived on a flight from Hong Kong.

According to one of Mr. Worachet’s close friends, the academic privately informed Thai authorities that he wished to turn himself in, and agreed to be detained at the airport.

Today, the military brought Mr. Worachet to the Crime Suppression Division to hear his charges of defying NCPO's summon orders, which carry a maximum sentence of two years in prison. 

Mr. Worachet told reporters that he is prepared to contest the charges. He explained that he had no intention of defying the NCPO's orders; it was his poor health condition that prevented him from reporting. To prove his point, Mr. Worachet brought a bag of medication to show the police as evidence.

Winyat Chartmontri, secretary-general of the Volunteer Lawyer for Human Rights (VLHR), said he has been appointed by Mr. Worachet's family to provide the academic with legal assistance.

"Earlier, Mr. Worachet's wife submitted documents to the NCPO explaining that he could not report because he was ill," Mr. Winyat said. "I believe it is a sufficient reason."

Another Redshirt activist, Jittra Cotchadet, was arrested at the airport after she flew in from Sweden on last Friday. She has also been charged with defying NCPO's summon order, even though she notified the junta through  the Thai Embassy in Sweden that she would surrender herself once she returned to Thailand. Ms. Jittra, who has been released on bail, also faces a trial in martial court.

The NCPO has summoned and detained over 300 academics, politicians, and activists since it seized power last month. Most of the summoned are seen to be allied or sympathetic to the former government. 

Human rights group have criticised the NCPO's summon orders, branding them as a carte blanche for arbitrary detention and a tool for intimidation of those critical of the coup. However, the junta insists the summons are merely invitations for individuals to "cool down" and have a conversation with the military.

A majority of the "invitees" have been detained in military camps for 3-7 days before they were released on the condition that they will not engage in any political activities. 

BANGKOK — The military junta issued an order today summoning more than 30 people to report to the Army club tomorrow, including prominent activists from both of Thailand's rival political factions.

The junta's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) broadcast the list on national TV this evening.

The 33 individuals were instructed to report to the Army Club in Bangkok  by noon tomorrow, where they will presumably held for questioning. Most of the those summoned by the NCPO in the past few weeks have been held in military camps for 3-7 days before being released. 

Rajarek Wattanapanich, founder of the bookstore "Book Re:Public" in Chiang Mai province is among those summoned by the NCPO today. Several weeks ago, soldiers showed up at Book Re:Public in a show of initimidation, possibly due to the book store's history of hosting political discussions. 

Also on today's summons list was Thongchai Suwanwihok, aka Comrade Chuang, who is believed to belong to the inner circle of advisers to the anti-government protest movement that sought the ousting of former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Sumet Trakulwoonnoo, aka Men, who police accused of leading a squad of armed security units for the anti-government protesters, was also summoned today. 

The police issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Sumet following a gunbattle between anti- and pro-government protesters in which  masked gunmen fired an automatic rifle concealed in a popcorn bag in the direction of pro-government demonstrators.

Mr. Sumet was identified by the police as the leader of the "Black King" cell, now popularly referred as the "popcorn gunmen." 

The police eventually arrested a suspect who was reportedly one of the "popcorn gunmen," but the court later withdrew arrest warrant on Mr. Sumet, citing insufficient evidence. 

By Cod Satrusayang (DPA)

BANGKOK —  Norwegian telecommunication giant Telenor on Tuesday dismissed reports that it had sacked a senior Asia executive for saying the Thai military government ordered the blocking of Facebook.

Telenor Asia vice president and head of communications Tor Odland "is an employee of the Telenor group and remains in his current role," the company said.

The Bangkok Post earlier Tuesday reported that Odland was moved out of the Bangkok office, after the company said that a Facebook blackout on March 28 in Thailand happened when the government told local telecommunications company DTAC to block the social network website.

Telenor Sunday apologized for that comment to Thailand's National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), expressing regret for having "damaged the public image" of the regulatory body.

The NBTC, which has been under military control since the May 22 coup, originally blamed the disconnection on technical difficulties.

Telenor holds a large stake in DTAC.