Anti-coup group wants treason suit against PM
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Members of the anti-coup Resistant Citizens group submitted a petition to the Court of Appeals yesterday asking it to consider accepting a lawsuit against Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha for allegedly committing treason by staging the coup last y
On May 29, the court of first instance rejected the lawsuit filed by Pansak Srithep, a member of Resistant Citizen, and 14 other members of the group who accused Prayut of committing treason, violating Article 113 of the Criminal Code, by overthrowing the constitution through a military coup on May 22, 2014.
The petitioners said the court of first instance did not investigate the matter and cited the provisional charter of 2014 exempting coup makers from responsibility, which still held.
The group urged the Court of Appeals to reverse the ruling of the court of first instance and reconsider the case in order to ensure justice. It said it was the duty of the court to conduct preliminary investigations and to allow the plaintiffs to exercise their legal rights to prove to the court that Prayut was in fact guilty.
The Court of Appeals has accepted the petition and will consider at a date yet to be specified whether or not to accept the appeal.
