A Thai court on Thursday granted bail to student protest leader Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, who has spent eight weeks in detention on charges of insulting the country’s king.
However, six fellow leaders remained in jail.
Bail conditions require Panusaya, 22, to stay in Thailand, attend court sessions when summoned and refrain from offending the monarchy, Krisadang Nutcharat, one of her lawyers, told Reuters.
Panusaya had been on hunger strike during her detention along with another jailed protest leader, Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, 22, who was hospitalised earlier. Parit’s bail hearing was postponed, according to his lawyers.
Earlier , authorities confirmed that another activist accused of royal insult, human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa, had been infected with the coronavirus in custody.
Panusaya, Arnon and five other protest leaders had been in detention for several weeks on charges of insulting King Maha Vajiralongkorn, a crime in Thailand that carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison for each violation.
The groundbreaking demonstrations by thousands of mostly students in 2020, made once-unthinkable calls for reforming Thailand’s monarchy, considered by many conservative Thais to be sacrosanct.
The protests also demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former army chief, who first came to power in a 2014 military coup.
Some student leaders had accused Prayuth and his military backers of using their alliance with the monarchy to retain political power.
Some also said the king had amassed powers beyond those of a constitutional monarch since he took the throne in 2016 after the death of his father, who reigned for 70 years.
Prayuth’s allies say his party won free and fair elections in 2019 and said any criticism of the monarchy for political gain is against the law.
The palace has repeatedly declined to comment on the protests.
