A human rights group on Thursday called for quick and thorough investigation into the murder of a Thai poet known for his support for the pro-government red-shirt movement and criticism of the country's lese-majeste law.
Kamol Duangpasuk, also known as Mainueng Kor Kuntee, was gunned down in the parking lot of Krok Mai Thai Lao restaurant on Lat Pla Khao Soi 24 at 2.10pm Wednesday.
An unidentified assailant shot dead Kamol Duangphasuk, 45, outside a Bangkok restaurant on Wednesday.
Kamol was a supporter of the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) and a critic of the lese-majesty law that makes defamation of the royal family punishable by three to 15 years in prison.
"Kamol's murder heightens the climate of fear felt by those who speak out against Thailand's draconian lese-majeste law," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
"The Thai authorities need to quickly investigate this murder and bring whoever is responsible to justice, wherever that investigation leads," Adams said in a statement issued in New York.
Kamol's killing comes at a time of heightened political tensions, and unsolved attacks on prominent figures.
On Monday, unknown assailants launched a grenade at the house of Narong Sahametapat, the health permanent secretary and an outspoken critic of the current government. No one was injured.
Kamol supported the UDD, who are often labelled as anti-monarchists, a charge their leaders deny.
There has been surge in lese-majeste cases over the past nine years, as the monarchy has been dragged in to the political conflict between those who support and those who oppose fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
"The brutal and outrageous killing of poet and red-shirt activist Kamol can only worsen the already tense political situation in Thailand," Adams said.