The conditions also included that the suspects no longer use the Line chat service together, an act considered by police to be akin to a political gathering, he said.

Seventeen suspects aged from 39 to 71 years old were arrested on August 13 following coordinated attacks in seven provinces south of Bangkok between August 10 to 12. Two of them were released from a military camp for unknown reasons.

The remaining 15, most of whom are elderly, were initially suspected of plotting the deadly bomb attacks. Police later determined that was not correct and the suspects were instead charged with allegedly breaking the junta’s ban on forming a secret society.

They were supposed to be granted bail on Monday but the lawyer was unable to transfer the bond required to the court on time. Thanadej resubmitted the bail request yesterday. The bond – made up of a Bt1-million land-title document plus Bt500,000 cash – was gathered from the lawyers association funds and detainees’ relatives.

Meanwhile, the court revoked arrest warrants for two police officers – Pol Second Lt Wilawan Khoonsawat and Pol Lieutenant Samai Khoonsawat – freed earlier, as they had nothing to do with the case at the beginning, Winyat Chartmontri, another lawyer, said.

The 15 suspects grouped together via chat Line application under the name of “Revolutionary Front for Democracy”. They mostly chatted about political matters, the lawyer Winyat said, noting that they were mostly too old and ill to do any activity to harm the junta.

“They might dislike the government, but that is just their ideas – they did nothing. But as long as they are prosecuted, we have to help them through the process,” he said, noting that civilian suspects like them should not be subject to trials in the military court.

Asked if authorities had accused them of moving to embrace communism, Winyat said a law banning communism was abolished in 2000.

“I’m worried that such a negative attitude against people remains among government officials,” he said, “May I beg understanding from the authorities to view the people positively and exercise power with caution.”

He said according to the penal code, forming a secret society or criminal association apparently needed to be an action to harm national security or social order, “but these people did nothing that could be deemed as forming a secret society.”