Thai pro-democracy student leader Parit Chiwarak freed on bail for 2020 protests
- ‘Truth never dies and … The fight of the people will continue’, the student activist, known as ‘Penguin’, told reporters and well-wishers
- Nearly 160 activists were hit with criminal charges under Thailand’s tough royal defamation laws, which carry a jail sentence of up to 15 years each
A Thai court on Thursday freed a prominent pro-democracy protest leader on bail after almost 200 days in detention.
Student-led demonstrations in 2020, calling for Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s resignation and making unprecedented calls for reform to Thailand’s untouchable monarchy, drew tens of thousands at their peak.
But the movement petered out as Covid-19 case numbers surged and the authorities detained most of the leaders.
Nearly 160 activists, including 13 juveniles, have been hit with criminal charges under Thailand’s tough royal defamation laws, which carry a jail sentence of up to 15 years per charge.
On Thursday a Bangkok court granted bail to university student Parit Chiwarak, better known in Thailand by his nickname “Penguin”, who is facing 23 lese-majesty charges.
The 23-year-old, who last year went on a 57-day hunger strike in jail, was freed on a 200,000 baht (US$6,000) bond, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, which represented him.
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As he walked free, wearing a white T-shirt and holding a white rose, Parit gave the three-fingered salute adopted as a gesture of defiance by the protest movement from the “Hunger Games” films.
