Activists are detained by police for defying the ban on public gatherings of 5 persons or more, and for protesting against the recent arrest of several critics of the military regime in Bangkok on April 27, 2016. Thai election authorities on Wednesday filed their first charge under a law banning campaigning and debate before a referendum on a controversial new constitution, as the junta tightens its grip on free speech. / AFP PHOTO / LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA
BANGKOK: The Thai junta’s fresh arrests of online critics is spreading paranoia across the country, say rights activists, with eight people being held for disparaging the regime on Facebook.
The military government’s latest crackdown on dissent comes as it prepares to put a charter it drafted to the public in August.
