Jakrapob Penkair, the fugitive former PM’s Office minister who faces lese majeste charges, has denied police claims he possessed war weapons, saying the accusation is fiction and that the military junta should produce evidence to support it.
The co-founder of the anti-coup Organisation of Free Thais for Human Rights and Democracy (FT-HD) made his denial in a statement posted on asiaprovocateur.blogspot.com on Saturday, the same day the Bangkok Military Court issued warrants for his arrest and four others for alleged involvement with seized weapons recently uncovered in several areas.
"The charges levelled against me today by Thailand’s illegitimate coup regime reveal, once again, the desperation of the generals and the establishment they represent.
"The false claim that I am behind some kind of 'armed element' is not only a fiction but yet another example of the injudiciousness of the fraudulent Thai junta," Mr Jakrapob said.
Jakrapob: Weapons charge a junta "fiction and injudiciousness" (AFP photo)
Mr Jakrapob, also a red shirt co-leader, said there was simply no evidence to connect him to the arms seized by security forces, and he challenged the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to produce evidence.
The NCPO’s weapons claim was so flimsy they could be washed away very quickly when subject to proper cross-examination, he added.
Commenting on remarks by deputy national police chief Somyos Pumpanmuang that the weapons charge makes it possible for Thailand to seek his extradition from countries with similar laws, Mr Jakrapob said “no government on earth would succumb to their threats and that I would be given full access to any evidence they have concocted.”
“For the record, I must state that I have no involvement in any kind of 'armed' struggle. I believe fully in a political, social and cultural struggle secured in reality by the democratic will of the Thai people,” the FT-HD co-founder said.
He also slammed the NCPO’s move to revoke his passport, saying this would “further expose to the global community that the junta are little more than petulant tyrants operating far beyond the norms of international law”.
Meanwhile, Pol Gen Somyos said the police would ask the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and the Foreign Ministry to coordinate with Hong Kong for the repatriation of Mr Jakrapob.
He said the police would make the move as Mr Jakrapob was reported to have been in Hong Kong recently. Pol Gen Somyos added the warrant for him was issued based on the testimony of suspects arrested over war weapons caches seized by authorities, who said Mr Jakrapob was an accomplice and was connected to more than 10 cases of arms seizure.