Thailand releases anti-coup protestors

A military court in Thailand set 14 student protestors free on Monday, nearly two weeks after they were arrested for holding anti-coup protests despite a government ban on public gatherings.

"Police asked to extend the student's detention but today the court threw out that request," Kisadang Nutjarat, the students' lawyer, said. "They have released the kids from prison today. There are no conditions and there was no bail," Nutjarat added.

The court had not set any date for future hearings, but the charges of sedition against them had not been dropped. If found guilty, they could be imprisoned for up to seven years. The army had earlier said it would not release the students.

Scores of supporters gathered outside the court shouted slogans and held signs to show their solidarity with the arrested youths. The students were part of a coalition of university groups in Thailand and were holding street demonstrations in June against the ruling junta, which calls itself the National Council for Peace and Order.

Their arrest prompted global criticism, from rights' organizations, the European Union and the United Nations. Several of these organizations' representatives were present in the court on Tuesday.

Thailand has been politically divided ever since a coup in 2014 ousted former President Yingluck Shinawatra. She is the sister of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was also deposed in a coup by the army in 2006.

mg/jil (Reuters, dpa)