Isra said the agency is just a small organisation run by Isra Institute and the Thai Press Development Foundation. Its work focuses on exposing corruption, especially among those in power, for the benefit of the public. However, it is concerned that the fresh charge against its reporter may take time and be costly. It is asking for donations to help fund the case.

The young reporter, Nattaporn Veeranant, was charged with trespassing at an apartment building in Bangkok’s Ratchadapisek area after being assigned by his editors to investigate the former police chief’s assets.

Prasong Lertratanawisute, director of the Isra Institute, had said Nattaporn had met with the apartment’s caretaker and asked for an interview and so was baffled why his reporter had been charged with entering the building without permission.

However, he said it was not clear if the charge represented an attempt to curb press freedom.

The Thai Journalists Association (TJA) also issued a statement demanding an end to infringements on press freedoms. The association said Nattaporn’s work followed journalistic standards and the police charge against him was deemed intimidation.

The association added that police should not attempt to curb media efforts to investigate people in power. The TJA demanded that police drop the charge, which it viewed as being weak, unjust and intended to serve people in power.

Last Wednesday, Patcharawat was acquitted in the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders, along with former premiers Somchai Wongsawat and Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and former Metropolitan Police chief Pol Lt-General Suchart Muenkaew in regards to a police crackdown on yellow-shirt protesters in October 2008 that left two people dead.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission had previously indicated it was investigating other matters concerning Patcharawat, including alleged “unusual wealth”.

Those interested in providing support to the case can make a money transfer at the Siam Commercial Bank, Sri Yan, 073-222026-9.

The new charter does not allow any extension of the deadline for an appeal in a criminal case, said National Anti-Corruption Commission President Pol-General Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit on Friday.

The organic law concerning the matter is not yet in place to facilitate such an extension, Watcharapol said, and so the NACC cannot zigzag with it.

The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders on last Wednesday acquitted former prime minister Somchai Wongsawat, his deputy Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, then-Metropolitan police chief Pol-Lt-General Suchart Muenkaew, and then-police chief Pol-General Patcharawat Wongsuwan. Patcharawat is Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan’s brother.

This has led to speculation that the family tie would affect the NACC’s actions. The NACC President earlier also conceded his close work ties with Gen Prawit.

The four were found not guilty for their involvement in the 2008 crackdown, which took place in front of Parliament. Somchai had attempted to enter Parliament to deliver his government’s policies but was blocked by protesters. The incident left two people dead and more than 400 injured.

In response to the ruling, the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which led the 2008 protest, held a press conference to pressure the NACC to launch an appeal.

Pol-General Watcharapol said the issues of connection between NACC officials and conflicts of interest are addressed in its law. He gave assurances that he needs to thoroughly consider the issues when dealing with the appeal in the case, as he is the organisation’s chair.

The deputy prime minister opened an office of the Five Provinces Forest Foundation to receive birthday well wishers who showed up early Friday morning. Before that, he made merit at Sri Maha That Temple in Bang Khen area. Among well wishers was Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who arrived at the foundation’s office around 7.45am.

The premier said he has made a birthday wish for Gen Prawit since 1976, and was happy to see the more elderly leader remain strong as always, despite having recently visited the hospital.

PM Prayut brushed aside the notion that he had a small talk with Gen Prawit about their work for the country and the military reshuffle list on his birthday.

“He will be with me the rest of our lives,” he said.

Gen Prawit, meanwhile, said he wished the country to return to peace and move forward. The junta has been here for three years now and the problem should be somehow solved, he said.

Seven commissioners were approved. They are experts and high-ranking officials from other agencies: Yupin Chalanonniwat, Pimon Thampitakphong, Orapin Polsuwan Sabairoop, Jinda Mahatthanawat, General Chanathup Inthamara, Weerayuth Pannuam, and Sansern.

While most of his colleagues-to-be received between 195 to 206 votes, Sansern won with a narrower margin of 166 to 36, with 12 abstentions.

Approval required at least 125 votes from the NLA.

Some NLA members earlier questioned whether Sansern would be appropriate for the position. They had lodged a petition to the OAG, asking it to investigate the case of an irregular budget allocation for a legal service with the lawyers’ council when Sansern was the NACC’s secretary-general.

However, it was found that the incident had taken place before Sansern took office.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency, a unit under US Department of Defense, submitted the required certification to Congress of the possible sale on Wednesday, according to a statement released on Friday.

This Congress notification of a potential sale is required by US law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

The Thai government has requested to purchase up to five RGM-84L Harpoon Block II surface launched missiles and one RTM-84L Harpoon Block II exercise missile, the statement said.

The proposal included containers, spare and repair parts, support and test equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, US government and contractor representatives technical assistance, engineering and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics and program support.

“This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to strengthen the US-Thai strategic relationship and to improve the security of an important partner,” the statement said.

The Thai Navy intends to use the missiles on its DW3000 Class Frigate. The proposed sale of the Harpoon Block II missiles and support will increase its maritime potential. Thailand has purchased Harpoon missiles previously and will have no difficulty absorbing these missiles into its armed forces, the statement said.

“The proposed sale will not alter the basic military balance in the region,” the agency noted.

The principal contractor is the Boeing Company.

The charges, which relate to recent Facebook posts criticising the government, also accuse him of defaming courts. Watana first acknowledged the charges last Monday.

The charge alleges that from July 19 to 26, the politician criticised the justice system on issues ranging from the drafting of a new law on criminal procedures against political office holders to the ongoing prosecution against former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Accompanied by his lawyer, Watana on Thursday spent 30 minutes at the TCSD headquarters before being allowed to leave.

Watana said police initially planned to seek Criminal Court permission for his detention but he refused to cooperate while maintaining that police had no rightful authority to detain him at this stage.

He said they decided to let him go after he threatened to take legal action against the officers involved if they went ahead with detaining him.

He said police could have detained him last Monday, when he first appeared before them. However, since they decided to let him go at that time they no longer had the authority to detain him.

Watana said the attempt to “gag” him may be related to the court verdict in a case against Yingluck which is scheduled to be delivered on August 25.

Thousands of her supporters are expected to gather at the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders on that day.

Authorities have discouraged people from gathering at the court on the day of the verdict, warning that such an act could be against the law.

Police last week summoned owners of 21 passenger vans used to transport Yingluck supporters to her previous court hearings. They were charged with operating on a route outside the permit areas and using the vehicles for a purpose not covered by the licence.

NACC President Pol Gen Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit said yesterday Patcharawat’s assets were being probed by an NACC sub-panel that was gathering evidence and witness accounts on the case, which is among 2,700 cases being investigated before the commission decides on indictments.

The case was placed in the media spotlight after Isra reporter Nattaporn Veeranant was charged with trespassing on Patcharawat’s alleged property.

Nattaporn was freed on bail after being arrested on Wednesday night at an apartment building in Bangkok’s Ratchadapisek area.

Meanwhile, the Thai Journalists Association (TJA) issued a statement demanding an end to infringements on press freedoms.

The association said Nattaporn’s work followed journalistic standards and the police charge against him was deemed as intimidation, adding that the police should not attempt to curb media efforts to check people in power.

The TJA demanded that police drop the charge, which it viewed as being weak, unfair and intended to serve people in power.

Prasong Lertratanawisute, director of the Isra Institute, which runs the news agency, said Nattaporn had met with the caretaker and asked for an interview, so he was baffled why his reporter had been charged with entering the building without permission.

However, he said it was not clear if the charge represented an attempt to curb press freedom.

Last Wednesday, Patcharawat was acquitted in the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders along with former premiers Somchai Wongsawat and Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and former Metropolitan Police chief Pol Lt-General Suchart Muenkaew in regards to a police crackdown on yellow-shirt protesters in October 2008 that left two people dead.

The NACC had previously indicated it was investigating other matters concerning Patcharawat, including alleged “unusual wealth”.

Lavrov came to the Kingdom on Wednesday after attending a Russia-Asean ministerial meeting in Manila.

In Bangkok, he met with Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai a day after leaving Manila.

Asean meetings in the Philippines last week succeeded in producing a framework for the establishment of the code of conduct.

Members of Asean have been at loggerheads with China over territorial disputes for decades. All sides are in the process of formulating a legally binding document to regulate the behaviour of countries in the sea, since conflicting parties have built facilities on contested islands and land features.

Thailand is a non-claimant in sea disputes, but a close observer due to the regional implications. However, the Kingdom has only addressed the issue via Asean mechanisms.

Lavrov also supported the denuclearisation of North Korea, including UN Security Council Resolution 2371 released on Saturday, which sanctions North Korean exports and sources of revenues overseas, according to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Busadee Santipitaks.

On Tuesday, US State Secretary Rex Tillerson also visited Thailand and asked the government to put more effort into helping Washington pressure Pyongyang to give up its nuclear ambitions. Tillerson would like Thailand to crack down on North Korean companies that had fronts in Thailand. However, Prayut insisted that his government would not do anything exceeding the requirements of the UN resolution.

Lavrov’s visit, however, was mostly intended to promote bilateral ties on the occasion of their 120th anniversary this year.

His talks with Thai officials included economic aspects, with Thailand and Russia agreeing to increase bilateral trade by a factor of five from the current volume of US$2 billion (Bt66.5 billion) to $10 billion, according to Deputy Government Spokes-person Lt-General Werachon Sukondhapatipak.

Prayut invited the Russian private sector to invest in key industries and the Eastern Economic Corridor as well as an aircraft maintenance centre in Thailand, Werachon said.

Officials also discussed a push for a free trade agreement (FTA) between Thailand and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which comprises more than 180 million people with a total estimated GDP of $4.47 trillion in 2016.

Russia and Belarus are among five Eurasian countries that have supported the FTA.

Neither Thai nor Russia officials said yesterday’s talks touched on military cooperation, but Russia has been a major source of military hardware since the ruling junta came into power in 2014.

“It’s normal, it’s something that cannot be denied. It’s part of my career,” said Watcharapol. “But how I act is a different matter.”

Watcharapol insisted that the NACC would meet the 30-day deadline to decide whether it would appeal the case.

The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders last Wednesday acquitted former prime minister Somchai Wongsawat, his deputy Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, and then-Metropolitan police chief Pol Lt-General Suchart Muenkaew, and then-police chief Patcharawat Wongsuwan, Prawit’s brother.

The four were found not guilty in regard to the police crackdown on yellow-shirt protesters in October 2008 that left two people dead and more than 400 injured.

The People’s Alliance for Democracy, which led the protest, has petitioned the NACC to appeal the case.

WHILE MAINTAINING that the movements of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s supporters will not be restricted, the government seems to be trying to undermine her support base ahead of the Supreme Court verdict in the case stemming from her government’s rice-pledging scheme.

Authorities have already taken action against those viewed as Yingluck’s allies; Peace TV, a satellite-based station run by red-shirt leaders, was suspended for 30 days by an order of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).

In a related development, the Auditor-General’s Office earlier this month informed the ministers of interior and defence in writing the agency had learned that local administrative organisations had misused their budgets by funding trips to Bangkok for “hidden” political motives. In the letter, the agency asked the two ministers to order state agencies under their supervision to help prevent the misuse of state funds.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday security officials would be instructed to ask people gathering in support of Yingluck whether they knew why they were attending the event and whether they had travelled on their own or were mobilised in large groups.

Hundreds of Yingluck’s supporters gathered at the Supreme Court building during the hearings by its Criminal Division for Political Office Holders in her trial for negligence in managing the rice-pledging scheme. Yingluck is accused of failing to end the scheme despite warnings about irregularities.

Thousands of supporters are expected to show up when the court delivers its verdict on August 25.

There have been allegations that free transport is being provided for people to travel from the provinces to Bangkok.

Prayut said Yingluck’s supporters would be allowed but they must not violate the law, express contempt for the court, create chaos, violate other peoples’ rights or cause traffic congestion.

“I am not barring their movements. I know there are people who love [Yingluck]. If they want to go [to the court], then go, but don’t go because you are hired to do so,” he said.

Yingluck also has the right to go wherever she wants and she can express her opinions on social media, he added.

The prime minister yesterday denied ordering the NBTC to have Peace TV pulled off the air, as observers viewed the suspension of the red-shirt channel as an attempt to choke support for Yingluck.

Prayut said if the suspension order against Peace TV had anything to do with the August 25 verdict reading, then “all the media” should have been ordered closed.

He added that the channel had violated the NBTC’s regulations and that the suspension had nothing to do with politics.

“Do I have to instruct them [the NBTC] on everything? They did their job. If they don’t, they would be deemed negligent of their duty,” he said.

In ordering the suspension of Peace TV’s broadcasts, the NBTC said two programmes it aired last month featured content “deemed intended to overthrow the constitutional monarchy system and affect national security, public order and good public morals”.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said yesterday that Peace TV’s suspension came after the station attacked the government.

He also said he had heard people would be brought from the provinces in large numbers to support Yingluck.

‘Bullying could increase turnout’

Meanwhile, Weng Tojirakarn, a red-shirt leader and key presenter on Peace TV, yesterday accused the ruling junta of being behind the suspension order. He said the station was always singled out when “politics reached a climax”.

Weng, who is also a Pheu Thai Party politician, said he believed the move was prompted by the upcoming court verdict, which will dictate Yingluck’s fate and could potentially have a massive effect on politics.

“Last time we got banned for 30 days during the lead-up to the referendum on the constitutional draft. And we were reopened after the vote was completed,” the activist told The Nation.

He said such a move harmed not only freedom of expression but also the right of people to information. “If there’s anything wrong with the programmes, then they should take legal action instead of suspending broadcasts of the whole station,” he added.

The latest action against the red-shirt mouthpiece reflected the ruling regime’s deep fear and anxiety, Weng said, but he added that the his group had no intention of causing turbulence and they always respected the court as well as the rule of law.

He said moves to suppress Yingluck’s supporters could backfire against people in power as more people might be tempted to show up given what they see as injustice perpetrated on their friends and favoured politicians.

“The powers-that-be should just let the people do as they like. During the court hearings, people showed up on their own and there were no problems at all,” Weng said. “If people see that their comrades are bullied, they may feel the urge to turn out in even greater numbers.”