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Detained protest leader Arnon Nampa has fallen ill with Covid and been moved for medical treatment, his Facebook page and news reports said Thursday.
The protest leader is in Bangkok Remand Prison awaiting trial on charges of sedition and lese-majeste for organizing and making speeches at pro-democracy rallies.
The Facebook post said he has been moved to Medical Correctional Institution. An earlier post on Wednesday said Arnon had a fever and has been feeling nauseated for the past three days.
Sunai Phasuk, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch in Thailand also posted on his personal social media accounts that Arnon has contracted the virus.
A call to his lawyer went unanswered.
If confirmed, Arnon would be the second protest leader to have contracted coronavirus in jail while awaiting their trial after Chukiat “Justin” Sawangwong tested positive for the virus last month.
Arnon had been tested for Covid-19 and the results were pending, according to a local news report.
In addition from Arnon, who was detained February 9, there are 22 other pre-trial detainees charged with violations related to political protests. Of those, 10 are being charged with lese-majeste.
Arnon was one of the first protest leaders to break the taboo of making speeches about the need to reform the royal institution last year. He is facing now 12 lese-majeste cases.