“Expressing opinion is a right under the charter. So the junta, or whoever, has no right to detain me,” Watana, who has been detained four times by the military, said on his Facebook page.

“I hope the queries will not take long,” he added.

The former Cabinet minister was held in April last year for allegedly violating an agreement with the ruling junta that he would not carry out political activities, after posting critical remarks on Facebook. He was later released on bail.

Yesterday, Watana revealed that the case was eventually dismissed by the military court.

“This shows that rights and freedom can only be obtained by fighting,” he said. “Dictators are never merciful enough to hand them [rights and freedom], although they belong to the people from the start.”