Name: Krisana (last name withheld) (Age 38)
Occupation: Merchant
Case: Sedition (Article 116) and Membership in a Secret Society (Article 209)
Date of Imprisonment: 30 November 2022
Location of Imprisonment: Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Central Prison

“Aey” Krisana believes in his goal to “ensure the country is ruled by a genuinely democratic system”. In 2010, he participated in the Red Shirt demonstrations until Yingluck Shinawatra became prime minister. He returned to the streets again after the 2014 military coup and had been active since he was charged in this case in 2018. Aey was among those rounded up and detained on a military base under martial law during the military coup years. His was arbitrarily detained and deprived of his liberty for seven days.

Being a suspect and later a defendant in this case was a huge downturn in Krisana’s life. Previously, he worked as a driver, but was then fired and unable to find anyone to hire him again. He was then subject to harassment and surveillance by the authorities, which made him ultimately unable to provide for his family.

While living on bail pending the case in the Court of First Instance and the Appeal Court, he struggled to make ends meet. He was managing a YouTube channel and selling rice online. The dire situation was made worse by having to wear an EM anklet, which made it difficult to land a new job. People around him judged him and he became unwilling to go outside. The device also caused wounds on his ankle.

Aey was a defendant in political case who was granted bail, with the condition of having to wear an EM anklet for over four years between 2018 and 2022.

The first time he was detained was in September 2018 when six people were held in custody on a military base. Charges were later pressed against five of them, namely Krisana, Therdsak, Praphan, Wannapa, and Jinda.

On 25 October 2018, all of them were indicted in the same case on offences of “sedition” and “being members of a secret society” according to Articles 116 and 209 of the Criminal Code, respectively. Five of them were accused of inciting members of the Organization for a Thai Federation and members of the public through the distribution of leaflets and selling of T-shirts bearing the emblem of the Organization for a Thai Federation during the period of 8 June – 12 September 2018. As Jinda failed to attend the court hearing, the number of defendants was reduced to four.

Witness hearings were held during 19-21 and 26 November 2019. Both the Court of First Instance and the Appeal Court convicted the four defendants of being members of a secret society according to Article 209 of the Criminal Code and sentenced each to three years. As Defendants No. 2 (Therdsak) and No. 3 (Praphan) pled guilty during the police investigation stage, and provided evidence beneficial to the court, their punishment was reduced by one-third to two years imprisonment each without suspension. The sedition charge, violation of Article 116, was dismissed.

The three remaining defendants decided to appeal to the Supreme Court. When the Supreme Court delivered the verdict, only Krisana and Wannapa attended. On 30 November 2022, the Supreme Court upheld the previous rulings and convicted and sentenced them each to three years imprisonment. Aey was initially incarcerated at the Bangkok Remand Prison. On 9 January 2024, he was abruptly transferred to the Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Central Prison according to the Corrections Department’s policy to address overcrowding.

Krisana was released from Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Central Prison after meeting the criteria for a pardon. He was released on 28 October 2024 after being imprisoned for 2 years