Leaders of a long-running protest in Thailand were freed on bail today after surrendering to police on charges of inciting unrest, leaving them free to continue their five-month campaign to unseat the government.
"Everything is done. There is no detention," Sondhi Limthongkul, the head of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), told reporters after his release from a Bangkok police station.
Mr Sondhi's surrender to police along with six colleagues followed the Court of Appeals' quashing of treason charges against them yesterday. The court issued fresh warrants for inciting unrest, which still carries seven years in jail.
Two PAD leaders already in custody were freed yesterday on the lesser charge, a major blow to the government and police who had been hoping to decapitate the protest movement by gradually picking off its leadership.
The original arrest orders for treason were issued on August 27th, the day after PAD protesters armed with golf clubs, stakes and machetes stormed a state television station, broke into ministries and overran the prime minister's official compound.
They have been at Government House ever since, making it the heart of a long-running anti-government campaign that spilled over into running battles with riot police this week in which two people died and more than 400 were injured.
Several police officers were shot, one was skewered with a flag pole and another was run over by a truck.
The unrest has hit investor confidence and distracted policymakers from focusing on slowing economic growth and the fallout from the global credit crisis, analysts say. Consumer confidence hit a 10-month low in September.
Police have denied PAD claims they fired explosives into the crowd this week, insisting they only used teargas.