BANGKOK: A Thai political activist who has started a hunger strike in protest against last month’s coup filed charges yesterday against junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha and members of the ruling military council for defaming the monarchy and acts of treason.
Chalad Vorachat, a retired navy lieutenant and serial hunger striker, argues in a complaint filed with a Bangkok criminal court that the army intervention based on Thailand’s Martial Law Act had a shaky legal basis.
“In order to announce martial law, the country must be at war or there must be a violent conflict. Permission must also be granted by the prime minister and the monarch,” Chalad told reporters. “But soldiers pushed ahead with seizing power anyway.”
But the court later rejected Chalad’s lawsuit, saying he had not personally incurred losses because of the military’s action.
Prayuth took power on May 22, saying the army needed to restore order after nearly seven months of political turmoil when protesters occupied areas of Bangkok to try to force out the government of Yingluck Shinawatra and wipe out the influence of her brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
At least 28 people were killed and more than 700 injured during the months of unrest. Reuters
