(From AFP)
A student activist was snatched from a Bangkok street, bundled into a car and assaulted by soldiers, his lawyer said on Thursday, in a dramatic act of military muscle-flexing apparently caught on CCTV.
Widely circulated security camera footage appears to show three uniformed soldiers grab Sirawitch Sereethiwat on a busy street outside his university on Wednesday evening.
The student, who has been a perennial thorn in the military’s side since it seized power in 2014, is seen frog-marched into a white car and driven away in front of stunned bystanders.
He spent the night in military custody and was charged Thursday at a Bangkok police station with violating a junta ban on protests and political gatherings, Pawinee Chumsri, of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, said.
In a video clip filmed Thursday at the police station Sirawitch, also known as Ja New, said he was blindfolded, slapped and kicked while in military custody.
“He was abducted and physically assaulted,” Pawinee said, repeating the allegations.
“This is an enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention. It’s illegal.” Read More