The provincial court in Mukdahan has denied bail requests from 19 red shirts remaining in detention, including some who are ill and a student, on the grounds that their alleged offences carry severe penalties and they might flee.
On 3 Dec, the court rescheduled the dates of hearings with the detainees, who were charged with trespassing and burning the provincial hall on 19 May, to speed up the trial process, and set 31 Jan 2011 for the first hearing.
A team of volunteer lawyers for the red shirts took the occasion to submit bail requests with assets worth 2.4 million baht as guarantee.
The lawyers cited health problems as a major reason for the temporary release of several detainees, including Wichit Inta who is suffering back pain, Somkid Bangsai who has hepatitis B, Buntian Rupsa-ad who has a vaginal infection, Kan Nongpudsa, Thongdee Chathipa and Duang Khonyuen who have mental problems, and Thongmak Khonyuen was hospitalized for a second time on 1 Dec with severe back pain, numbness in the left leg and blood in the urine, and has been diagnosed to have spinal pressure on the nerves.
Thongmak Khonyuen
Spinal pressure on the nerves, doctor's diagnosis
Others have to take care of their poor families and parents, and one is a second-year vocational student who has to continue his studies, the lawyers told the court.
The lawyers also submitted to the court documents and VCDs containing comments by the Truth for Reconciliation Committee and the National Human Rights Commission, which recommended that the government temporarily release detained red shirts.
The court denied the requests, citing that their alleged offences carried severe penalties, and that they might flee.
The lawyers will appeal in the next 15 days.
The same court, however, previously temporarily released on health grounds two red shirts, Pornpoj Pansuwan and Winai Pinsilapachai, who were detained for the same charges.
On 25 Nov, Winai Pinsilapachai drank fabric softener during a visit from his wife, and was taken to hospital. According to doctors, he suffered severe depression and was likely to re-attempt suicide.
Winai Pinsilapachai, 25 Nov
His wife requested bail for him on 29 May with lease guarantees worth 500,000 baht. After his release the following day, his family took him to a psychiatric hospital in Nakhon Phanom, to which doctors had referred him.
After the incident, the prison became stricter with the detained red shirts, restricting their purchase of detergent and freedom of movement, said the wife of one.