Bail in Thailand 2020: Bail on the Weekends

In what is probably the biggest change the rules on bail in Thailand, the president of the Supreme Court recently announced that bail can now be applied for on weekends. Thailand Bail can confirm that this new rule, announced on 25 December 2019, is now in force at the courts around Thailand. Thailand Bail just managed the successful bail applications for two foreigners who were arrested for drug cases in Koh Phangan and sent to the Koh Samui Provincial Court. Under the old rules, we would have had to wait until Monday to file our bail paperwork, but with the new rule, we were able to file our bail documents on Saturday, and both people were released the same day.

Thai Prison – What Life is Like Inside the Bangkok Hilton

If you have ever spent any time inside a Thai prison, you will know how difficult life can be on the inside. There is constant overcrowding, disease, lack of clean food and water, immense heat, lack of access to people outside the prison, occasional violence and death, and other challenges. Whilst some of these aspects are the same in every prison around the world, Thai prisons have certain unique challenges. The Bangkok Hilton, a fictitious name typically associated with the Bang Kwang Prison, has some of the strictest rules of any Thai prison.

Prisoner Transfer Agreements in Thailand – Thailand to Sign 2 New PTA’s in 2020

The lawyers and international case managers at Thailand Bail have helped many people successfully fight their criminal cases in Thailand and avoid prison. But there are thousands of people each year who we do not have the opportunity to work for, and many of these people end up in Thai prison. We receive emails and phone calls each week from friends and family members of foreign inmates who are in one of the many prisons in Thailand. Thailand Bail does offer post-case legal services, and one of the most-requested services is to help foreign prisoners in Thai prisons get repatriated to their home countries. Therefore, today’s post is about prisoner transfer agreements in Thailand and the recent news that Thailand will sign two new prisoner transfer agreements with Malaysia and Ukraine. Please read below for more details about prisoner transfer agreements between Thailand and other countries.

New Law: Military Court Cases Transferred to Civilian Courts

On 30 June 2019, Prime Minister Prayut announced a change in the laws regarding military court cases in Thailand. All current civilian cases in the military courts of Thailand that have not yet been finalised (reached a final judgment) were to immediately be transferred to the civilian courts. This is very significant news for defendants with cases in the military courts around the country. Thai and foreign defendants alike will have their cases moved to the provincial court in the province where the alleged crime happened. Prime Minister Prayut explained that the change was due to the handover of power from the military (from 2014) to the people after the election that saw the military-supported party win the majority.

The Importance of Witness Testimony in Criminal Cases in Thailand

In today’s post, we would like to discuss how important witness testimony is in criminal cases in Thailand. This critical element of the criminal case trial process should not be ignored, since the judges in the criminal courts of Thailand can consider witness testimony from a credible witness to be as important as physical evidence. The lawyers and case managers at Thailand Bail have seen other Thai lawyers make the mistake in not preparing adequately for trial, especially for the witnesses from the prosecution. In this post, we will look at what kind of witnesses will have their testimony considered by the court and what makes a witness credible or not credible. Finally, we will briefly examine some ways in which witnesses can be made to seem not credible.

Thailand Bail Achieves Positive Result in Court in Under 1 Week

Thailand Bail recently got a very positive result for a criminal case involving a foreign defendant in the Samut Prakarn Provincial Court in Samut Prakarn, Thailand, charged with violating the Firearms Act of Thailand. This case was very challenging for our lawyers and interpreters, since we needed to accomplish a positive decision in a very short amount of time. Faced with the challenge of time constraints, we worked overtime and through the weekend to complete all work.

Thailand Bail Wins in Court!

Thailand Bail recently won a very important criminal case involving a foreign defendant in the Udon Thani Provincial Court in Udon Thani, Thailand, charged with attempted murder of two Thai women. This case was very challenging for our lawyers and interpreters, since there were 4 witnesses against our client, swearing to the court that he had tried to kill these two Thai women. After months of dedicated preparation, we executed the plan in court during the trial, resulting in a no-prison-time verdict for our client, who only had to pay a small fine as a penalty for this crime that could have landed him in prison for 50 years. We received recognition for this from the defendant’s embassy in Bangkok for our relentless work to get a positive judgment in this case.

The 3 Things You Must Do If You Get Arrested in Thailand

Our blog post for March 2019 is one that has been requested by many people, so we decided to focus on the 3 things you must do if you get arrested in Thailand. We often tell people that no one plans to get arrested in Thailand, but sometimes things happen. For example, we recently came across a foreigner who had been arrested with his friend for stealing a mobile phone, even though he claimed he had picked it up thinking it was his. A Thai citizen who we recently helped had been over a friend’s house for a visit when the police came in and arrested everyone for some methamphetamine they found on the premises. In Thailand, the Thai police often like to charge accused people jointly, or “ruam-gan” in Thai – to jointly commit a crime. This does not mean that you were caught in the act of doing anything illegal, but it just means that you were in the wrong place at the wrong time in many cases. Getting arrested in Thailand is a stressful event, so we advise you do the following 3 things as quickly as possible.

Thai Prisons Offer LINE Calls for Prisoners and Their Family Members in 2019

Prisoners in Thailand are now eligible for more convenient family “visits” through calls on the popular LINE app. Thailand Bail has seen posters and other information posted at several prisons around Thailand, and the Department of Corrections in Thailand has said that 78% of the prisons in Thailand have already implemented the LINE app calling feature for prisoners and their families. We were able to take a quick photo of the details (in Thai language – please contact Thailand Bail for free details about how to use the LINE app to speak to your family member in a Thai jail or Thai prison in Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, or elsewhere in the country). This photo was taken at Bang Kwang Prison (also known as Bang Kwang Central Prison) in Nonthaburi, Thailand (just outside Bangkok). Thailand Bail has regular visits to many of the prisons around Thailand, including Bang Kwang Prison. Our lawyers have confirmed that Bang Kwang Prison is one of the Thai prisons taking part of the Thai Department of Corrections program for LINE app calls with prisoners. Thailand Bail knows how long it can take to make a visit to an inmate (we do this regularly), and for family members who are in another city or another country, as many of our clients are, this can be a tremendous help.

Nasty Rybka, Alex Lesley and Others Free from Thai Prison

Thailand Bail provided legal representation and legal advice for Nastya Rybka (real name Anastasia Vashukevich) and Alex Lesley (real name Aleksandr Kirillov) during their criminal trial in the Pattaya Provincial Court. Since early 2018, Nastya and Alex, as well as 6 other Russians and Belarusians, faced up to 20 years in prison for 3 separate criminal charges in Thailand. Facing 20 years in a Thai prison is challenging, but the result was extremely positive, with Nastya, Alex, and the other 6 having their cases ended on 15 January 2019 after arranging a plea deal that saw them plead guilty to all charges. The resulting sentence was time served, and they were quickly deported, having just left today, 17 January 2019, less than 48 hours after having been sentenced.