Representatives of the European Union and officials of European embassies in Thailand went to Samranrat police station on Saturday to witness the filing of criminal charges by the police against a human rights lawyer who has been providing legal counselling to political activists.
Ms Sirikarn Charoensiri was charged with illegal political assembly of more than five people, incitement of unrest and resistance of the state among the people for her role in providing legal assistance to political activists deemed to be critical of the Monarchy.
The charges against Ms Sirikarn stemmed from an incident on June 25, last year when she went to observe the rally staged at the Democracy Monument on Rajdamnoen road by the so-called New Democracy Movement.
Earlier, the lawyer was charged with concealing evidence and resisting police order in accordance with Sections 142 and 368 of the Criminal Code from her role in refusing the police to search her car without a warrant in order to seize 14 smart phones which were deposited with her for safe keeping by 14 students of the New Democracy Movement before they were escorted into prison.
However, Ms Sirikarn’s car was impounded by the police for an overnight at the police station until they received a court warrant to search the car the next day.
