On 28 March, the Criminal Court gave 10 activists suspended prison sentences for their rallies against the National Legislative Assembly in Dec 2007, in which they staged a sit-in protest inside the Parliament compound in an attempt to stop the junta-installed legislative body from passing more laws.
They were found guilty of illegal assembly, trespass, and using force to harm others, but were acquitted on the charge of rebellion and obstructing legislation.
6 of them were sentenced to 2 years in prison and a fine of 9,000 baht, and the rest were sentenced to 1 year in prison and a fine of 9,000 baht.
However, the court reduced the penalties by one third, citing their useful cooperation during the trial, and finally suspended the jail terms for two years as the defendants had ‘never previously committed any offences and had acted in this case for the good of the country.’
After the court ruling, Jon Ungphakorn, the first defendant, said that he and the others had staged the protest in good faith, and thought that after consultation among them, they would appeal the case.
He was concerned with the court verdict which considered that the ‘pushing and pulling’ at the gate of the parliament was an act of intentional harm, as this can happen in every peaceful protest elsewhere in the world.
Anirut Khaosanit, the fifth defendant, said that several bills of the NLA would have an adverse impact, and he, as a farmer, was against its water management and the internal security bills, among others.
Human rights activist Phairoj Pholphet, the eighth defendant, said that this case was a struggle between the concepts of people’s rights and liberties and national security, and the court gave more weight to security.
Other defendants include social activists and state enterprise labour union leaders, mostly yellow shirts.
On 12 Dec 2007, hundreds of protesters from civil society groups rallied at Parliament House where NLA members were considering bills. They urged the NLA members to stop passing laws since a general election was only 11 days away. Jon Ungphakorn, then chair of the NGO Coordinating Committee, led dozens of activists to climb the fence and stage a sit-in protest inside the compound, causing the NLA session in progress to adjourn for the day.
