Thai protest leaders face new charges

BANGKOK: Three Thai pro-democracy protest leaders -- all in hospital after chaotic scenes that erupted when they were released from prison -- were facing possible new charges on Saturday.

Panupong "Mike" Jadnok, Panusaya "Rung" Sithijirawattanakul and Parit "Penguin" Chiwarak are among the best known faces of Thailand’s pro-democracy movement.

A criminal court on Friday ordered the release of the trio, who had been in custody since mid-October on sedition charges.

But during the trip from the prison to the police station late on Friday, Panupong fainted in police custody -- local media said plainclothes officers had held him in a chokehold.

Shards of broken glass fell on Parit from a smashed vehicle window, and Panusaya had an unexplained foot injury.

But the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, an organisation representing the trio, said police handed Panusaya an arrest warrant at her hospital bed over a June protest in Bangkok.