Thai court releases seven protest leaders on bail

Feb 22, 2011, 9:07 GMT

Bangkok - A Thai court on Tuesday granted bail to seven leaders of the protest movement that paralyzed parts of Bangkok between March and May last year.

The Bangkok Criminal Court allowed the temporary release of the seven leaders of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) on bail of 600,000 baht (20,000 dollars) each on the conditions that they not leave the country and avoid protests.

Nattawut Saikua, Weng Tojirakarn and five others had been detained without bail since May 19 when government troops cracked down on the protest in central Bangkok.

The court also allowed bail for one UDD follower. Scores of UDD supporters, also called red shirts for their preferred protest garb, remain detained facing charges of terrorism and violation of the emergency decree.

'We still intend to protest the detention of red shirts nationwide on March 12,' said UDD leader Thida Thavornseth, whose husband Weng was among the released.

The UDD has been holding mass rallies in Bangkok twice a month to protest the detentions and the government's failure to identify the perpetrators behind the crackdowns on protesters.

On February 13, thousands of red shirts rallied outside the Bangkok Criminal Court to protest the judiciary's 'double standards' in dealing with the leaders of different protest groups.

The UDD has complained that the leadership of the nationalist People's Alliance for Democracy, which staged seven months of protests in Bangkok in 2008, had received more lenient treatment.

The UDD held rallies in Bangkok from March to May, prompting street battles with authorities that left more than 90 people dead, including a dozen police and soldiers.

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