Thai anti-government protesters defy court
Updated on 28 August 2008
Anti-government protesters in Thailand have resisted attempts by authorities to break up their takeover and occupation of the prime minister's office compound in Bangkok.
Demonstrators from People's Alliance for Democracy formed a human chain around their leaders hoping to prevent their arrest after the Bangkok Civil Court issued a ruling which ordered the group to immediately leave the government compound and stop blocking public streets.
Arrest warrants were issued for nine leaders of the right-wing protest group on charges of insurrection, conspiracy, illegal assembly and refusing orders to disperse.
Insurrection, which is the legal equivalent of treason, carries a maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment.
The alliance is seeking to force the government of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej to step down, accusing it of corruption and of serving as a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and faces several corruption cases.
Alliance leaders said they were ready to be arrested, but encouraged the supporters to remain on the grounds, telling them if they left Government House it would mean they had been defeated.
Inside the Government House compound, nearly 1,000 police confronted thousands of protesters who occupied the grounds on Tuesday afternoon and stayed overnight.
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