
A Thai student who has been vocal in his protests against Prayut Chan-o-cha’s government and also been accused of lèse-majesté was allegedly kidnapped from his condominium in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, where he has been living in exile.
The incident occurred yesterday evening, June 4th, when a source whose name has been withheld for security reasons claimed he was talking to the activist, Wanchalearm Satsaksit, on the phone when the incident happened.
The source said he heard Mr. Satsaksit saying “argh, can’t breathe” before the phone cut out. Initially, it was assumed he had an accident, but upon checking his condo it was discovered that Mr. Stasaksit had disappeared.
A security guard said that he had witnessed the event and tried to help, but the kidnapper was armed with a gun. Security cameras in the area showed a black car speeding away from the scene.
Wanchalearm has been extremely vocal in his criticism of the ruling Thai Government and Thai politics in general.
He had set up a Facebook group called “Ku Tong Dai 100 Lan Jak Thaksin Nae Nae” (I must get 100 million baht from Thaksin for sure), which used satire to take aim at the junta since 2014.
He has also been accused of violating Thailand’s controversial lèse-majesté law and went into self-exile in Cambodia following threats of prosecution in Thailand.
Source: Prachatai