The Bhumjaithai Party (BJT) is suing former politician and whistleblower Chuvit Kamolvisit for allegedly damaging the reputation of its party candidates and is demanding 100 million baht in damages.
The party is also seeking a court injunction to bar the former massage parlour tycoon from its final election campaign rally today in Bangkok.
Lawyers Natchanikarn Ketkhamkhwa and Pichai Iem-on claim in the suit — authorised by BJT executive Supachai Jaisamut — that Mr Chuvit has undermined the popularity of the party in the run-up to Sunday’s general election.
In addition to barring him from the BJT rally at the Show DC Hall today, the party wants the court to order Mr Chuvit not to disrupt any party events from today through Sunday.
Mr Chuvit has declared war on the BJT’s cannabis policy and encouraged voters to join his crusade against allowing the recreational use of the plant.
The BJT insists it supports the medicinal use of cannabis but opposes its recreational use.
But the latter has been an unintended consequence of its push to remove the plant from the national list of controlled drugs before a law could be passed to clarify what is and is not allowed.
Mr Pichai said the party was suing Mr Chuvit because he had infringed on the rights of the party and further intimidated its members and supporters near Din Daeng police station in Bangkok on May 2. The amount of damages was based on the campaign budgets of party candidates in 400 constituencies nationwide, or 1.9 million baht per constituency MP, said the lawyer.
The court has accepted the suit for consideration and will begin witness examinations on July 3. A decision on the injunction was expected yesterday evening.
Mr Pichai said Mr Chuvit was free to hold press conferences or give media interviews as he had the right to do so under the framework of the law. But the party wanted him not to stage any moves against it near its rally venues in order to avoid any confrontation, said the lawyer.
A court in April granted a BJT request for a temporary injunction that barred Mr Chuvit from criticising its cannabis policy, a decision that concerned free-speech advocates. It was quickly overturned, with the Civil Court saying that the public had a right to hear about the benefits and potential risks of cannabis.
Mr Chuvit has also been an outspoken critic of the Chidchob family, the main power behind the BJT.