Thai activist detained in Cambodia to be freed Feb 1

BAGNKOK, January 31 (TNA) - The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that a Thai female political activist detained in neighbouring Cambodia, Ratree Pipattanapaiboon, who has been granted a royal pardon from the Cambodian King, will be freed from the Prey Sar Prison on February 1. Thai Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs Nattawut Pothisaro told journalists on Thursday that Ratree will be released at 9am (Cambodia's time) on February 1 and she will arrive at Thailand's main Suvarnabhumi International Airport at 9pm (Thailand's time), and that Ratree and her family members will be staying at the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh, pending their scheduled flight departure. Officials from the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department of Thai Citizen Protection Overseas and two Thai diplomatic staffs are scheduled to leave for Cambodia Thursday evening to coordinate with the Cambodian side; while two family members will reportedly fly to Cambodia on Friday morning to receive Ratree. Ratree and a Thai male political activist, Veera Somkwamkid, have been jailed in the Prey Sar Prison on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital, on charges of illegal entry and espionage. The Thai government says it will keep seeking a royal pardon for Veera as well, after he has now been commuted his jail term by Phnom Penh. (TNA)