Right advocates have condemned the Thai military for its arbitrary detention of a woman in military barracks without any formal legal charges for possessing T-shirts allegedly connected with separatists. Brad Adams, the Asia director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), said yesterday that the arbitrary use of arrests, combined with a contempt for human rights and the rule of law, was turning Thailand into a rogue state. “The government should immediately remove Wannapha [the woman arrested] from military custody, give her access to a lawyer and release her unless she is credibly charged,” Adams said after the woman’s plight came to light. However, Pawinee feared the woman would be charged with instigation of an offence under Article 116 of the Thai Criminal Code. Rights advocates have been lining up to condemn the woman’s detention as a violation of her rights.

Source: The Nation Bangkok September 11, 2018 00:45 UTC