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Local media said that Panupong Jadnok fainted after being subjected to “strangulation” by plainclothes policemen, who tried to re-arrest him and two other protest leaders.
A prominent Thai protest leader rests in a Bangkok hospital on Saturday after being rushed overnight from a police station when chaos erupted when he and two others were released on bail on sedition charges.
Panupong “Mike” Jadnok appeared to be unconscious when he was put into an ambulance Friday night. Local media said he fainted after being “strangled” by plainclothes police officers, who apparently tried to re-arrest him and his colleagues immediately after his release.
Images on social media posted on Saturday showed Panupong resting on a hospital bed at Rama 9 Hospital.
He, Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul and Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, in custody since mid-October, are among the best-known faces of Thailand’s pro-democracy movement.
The protesters have demanded reforms to the country’s monarchy and that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the former military chief who organized a coup in 2014, resign.
The student-led demonstrations, which have been held almost daily for months, also call for a rewrite of the military-drafted constitution and an end to the government’s alleged harassment of political opponents.
After a court ordered the release of the three activists, police were apparently considering the outstanding arrest warrants against them on Friday night.
‘The wind of change has come’
Parit, shirtless and with a haircut, challenged officers to re-arrest him as he addressed a crowd of about 300 fans outside the station, who were singing songs.
“The iron bars can imprison the stars but not the light of the stars. In my heart, I still have faith in people. The wind of change, the wind of democracy has reached Thailand, ”he said.
“We will fight the darkness with the light of the stars. We will fight evil with flowers. And we will fight with firearms with white ribbons. “
Rung, another protest leader whose long blonde locks were cut and dyed black during her time in prison, received a bouquet of flowers from the crowd.
“The movement has to continue. Everyone must recommit to non-violence, ”Rung said.
“If violence occurs, it is not from us. Although we are becoming more frustrated, we must not be fooled by his ploy. “
Students skip graduation over the king
Among the royal reforms being sought are the abolition of the draconian lese majesty law that protects the monarch family from defamation, clear accounting of the palace’s finances, and keeping King Maha Vajiralongkorn out of politics.
Such calls are unprecedented in Thailand, where criticism of the royal family is taboo.
Many students boycotted his graduation ceremony at Thammasat University on Friday, where the king, who spends much of his time in Germany, was handing out degrees.
Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn arrives to preside over a graduation ceremony at Thammasat University in Bangkok on Friday. [Mladen Antonov/AFP]
“Some people say it’s a once in a lifetime experience (meeting the king). I don’t want to meet him. I don’t want to show respect to people like him, ”a graduate, a 24-year-old who identified himself as Jack, told the AFP news agency.
“Why do we have to worship him like a god? I’ve always asked myself these questions, ”another graduate, Bowie, told AFP.
An AFP reporter at the scene said the number of students present was visibly less than in previous years.
Thammasat University has a reputation for having liberal views and was the scene of a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 1976.
University officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The king was expected to attend another graduation ceremony on Saturday, and Prayuth warned students not to get out of line.
Before the second day of graduation ceremonies on Saturday, security at Thammasat University was reportedly tightened, and the authorities reportedly verified ID cards based on police databases as well as possible weapons.
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