Suthep, Thavorn’s convictions upheld but prison term reduced to one year

According to Sawat Charoenphol, Suthep’s lawyer, the Appeals Court reduced the imprisonment of key PDRC leaders Suthep and Thavorn Senniam handed out by the Criminal Court, to one year each without any reason to suspend the prison term.

Sawat said other PDRC leaders, who were imprisoned by the primary court for between four to nine years, also saw their terms reduced to between one year to one year and a few months. He did not elaborate.

The lawyer said the Appeals Court reduced the prison term of the PDRC leaders because the judges saw their violations of the law during the Bangkok shutdown protests from November 23, 2013 to May 1, 2014 as a single count crime while the primary court had regarded the violations as multiple counts.

Public prosecutors had charged 39 PDRC leaders and members in the Criminal Court, accusing them of collaborating and committing multiple crimes during the almost half-a-year Bangkok shutdown protests against the government of then prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

The PDRC leaders faced multiple charges ranging from sedition and terrorism to inciting unrest, invasion of state offices and disrupting the election.

They were also accused of setting up seven rally sites from January 13 to March 2, 2014 to block access to the main roads of Bangkok and setting up their own forces to block the roads.

On February 24, the Criminal Court rejected the sedition and terrorism charges but convicted Suthep and 25 other PDRC leaders of inciting strikes to force the government to comply with their demand, of unlawful gathering by more than 10 people, of encroachment of state offices at night, encroachment of private properties and of acting as law enforcers without authority.

The Criminal Court sentenced Suthep and Thavorn to five years in jail.

Other sentenced PDRC leaders included Chumpol Julasai (9 years and 24 months), Puttipoing Punnakan (7 years), Nattapol Thipasuwan (6 years and 16 months), Isara Somchai (7 years and 16 months), Suwit Thongprasert or former Phra Phutta Isara (4 years and eight months), and Samdin Lertbutr (4 years and 16 months).

The Criminal Court acquitted 13 defendants and suspended the sentences of 18 defendants. The court reasoned that there were no reasons to suspend the sentences of Suthep and seven other defendants.

On Thursday, Sawat said the Appeals Court also dismissed sedition and terrorism charges against Suthep and other PDRC leaders but upheld other verdicts of the lower court.

Sawat said the PDRC leaders, whose terms were not suspended, applied for bail immediately to continue to fight the charges in the Supreme Court.

Speaking to reporters before entering the courtroom, Suthep had said he was ready to spend nights in jail pending the bail process if the court did not suspend his prison term. Reporters were not allowed in the court.