Thailand Junta Party founder faces sedition charges

Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, 40, raised three fingers in the air at a crowd of hundreds of supporters and journalists before walking into Bangkok's Pathum Wan police station for questioning on Saturday.

The salute, adopted from the Hunger Games films, has become a popular and powerful sign of defiance against the military leadership in Thailand.

"Thank you for coming out," he said before entering the building.

Thanathorn, the rising opposition leader of Thailand's popular new political party, Future Forward, met police to address new sedition charges filed against him by government representatives for "causing disorder and disobedience among the public" that could lead to "the acts of rebellion".

According to police, he faces three charges; allegedly for breaking article 116 for sedition, article 189 for assisting others who committed a serious crime, and article 215, for an unlawful assembly of more than 10 people. Thanathorn has denied the charges, calling them politically motivated.

The sedition charge, which was filed by the junta, was the second criminal case opened against Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, 40, since he formed the progressive, youth-oriented Future Forward Party last year.

The 2015 case resurfaced after the Future Forward Party made a surprisingly strong showing in the March 24 election, coming in third with 6.2 million votes.

Representatives from the UN, various international rights groups and 11 other foreign embassies observed the process today.

The sedition charges were filed just a day after Thailand's army chief, General Apirat Kongsompong, warned supporters of anti-junta parties, like Future Forward, and anyone who threatens Thailand's constitutional monarchy, to be cautious.

He said that the military will do whatever is necessary to protect the country's "Thai-style democratic system".

"The army does the army's duty, which is to protect, maintain, and defend the institutions of the nation, religion, and monarchy," General Kongsompong said on Tuesday.

After receiving the police summons, Thanathorn took to social media to respond to the charges.

"It's clear now that the old-school political game won't end after the election, but is only getting more intense because they're afraid of Future Forward," he wrote on Facebook.

"They're afraid of our wins that exceeded the expectations of many, afraid of politics based only on policies and ideologies that can build faith and support from the public without money or authority, afraid of the truth that nearly 6.3 million people sincerely support Future Forward Party," he wrote.

Immediately after his posts, #savethanathorn shot to Thailand's top trending hashtags.