Pro-democracy activists set up camp at October 14 Memorial in Bangkok
Anti-government protesters led by Jatupat Boonpattararaksa, better known as Pai Dao Din, erected a campsite around the October 14 Memorial on Ratchadamnoen Klang Road on Thursday evening.
Jatupat invited others to join his “Camp Not Jail” campaign by erecting tents around the monument, which commemorates protesters slain during the 1973 uprising against dictatorship.
He said he will report to Samranrat Police Station tomorrow morning to answer a summons stemming from his presence at an anti-government protest at Democracy Monument in Bangkok on July 18.
He has also been ordered to report to police tomorrow in his home province of Khon Kaen, for joining a protest there.
Jatupat spent more than two years in jail for lese majeste and violation of the Computer Crime Act for sharing a BBC Thai Facebook biography of His Majesty the King in December 2016.
The Thai government has been cracking down on pro-democracy protesters and those it deems to be undermining the monarchy. The protesters have launched almost daily rallies nationwide calling for a new Constitution, dissolution of Parliament, and an end to intimidation of activists. Some of the youth-led protests have also called for reform of the monarchy, breaking a deep taboo against debate on the royal institution.
