HUMAN Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International called on authorities yesterday to urgently release student activist Jatupat Boonpataraksa, or “Phai Dao Din”, who is currently on a hunger strike in a Chaiyaphum prison.

HRW said the United Nations and other international organisations should press Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha to end arrests of critics and drop charges against them.

“The junta should immediately free Jatupat and other activists who peacefully protested the proposed constitution,” said Brad Adams, HRW’s Asia director. “In the meantime, he should be under the supervision of doctors in case his health condition worsens, and diplomats should be allowed to visit him.”

Jatupat, 25, was arrested in Chaiyaphum province on August 6 for distributing publications criticising the junta-sponsored charter draft, which was approved in the national referendum the following day.

He is accused of breaching Article 61 of the referendum law, which prohibited the spread of messages about the charter draft and referendum which were false, rude, dramatic or intimidating. If found guilty, the activist could face up to 10 years in jail.

A prominent anti-junta activist based in Khon Kaen in the northeast, “Phai” , of the Dao Din group, refused to seek bail to show he opposed the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and regards its laws as |illegitimate.

He went on a hunger strike on the voting day to protest against his arrest, but his health has deteriorated in recent days. The Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported yesterday that the activist had been suffering body pains, shivering, and a high fever after days of starvation.

He was transferred late on Monday from a cell to the nursing home in Phu Khiao District Prison, where he has been detained. The nurses had given him some pills and supplementary mineral drinks, the lawyers group reported.

Authorities rejected a request by the man’s mother’s to transfer him to a proper hospital.

His mother, Prim, said she was worried seeing Jatupat’s had a fever. She said he had suffered dengue fever before.

The prison chief, who asked not to be named, said a physician had checked on Jatupat yesterday and reported he was healthy. Though being on a hunger strike, the activist had had small snacks and some milk, he added.

Pro-democracy advocates, including activists, writers, and academics, took to Facebook, in an online campaign – “Chain Letters to Phai Dao Din” – to show their solidarity with the hunger striker. Each shared an experience of the first time they met Jatupat and what impressions they had of him.

Despite his poor health, Jatupat’s father Viboon said the activist insisted on continuing his hunger strike at least until this Friday, when his first round of 12-days in detention will end. Viboon said the lawyer would object to any request for further detention, saying his son had no intention to flee.

Last year, Jatupat and 13 other young activists, later known as New Democracy Movement, or NDM, were arrested and put in jail for nearly two weeks for criticising the junta. Their stand drew media attention both at home and abroad.