Thai protest leaders surrender, seek bail

By Chalathip Thirasoonthrakul

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Leaders of a long-running protest in Thailand surrendered to police on Friday on charges of inciting unrest, but are expected to win bail immediately and continue their five-month campaign to unseat the government.

The Court of Appeals quashed treason charges against the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) leaders on Thursday and freed two already in custody on bail for the lesser offence of inciting unrest, which still carries up to seven years in jail.

The original arrest orders for treason were issued on Aug. 27, the day after PAD protesters armed with golf clubs, stakes and machetes stormed a state television station, broke into ministries and overran the prime minister's official compound.

They have been at Government House ever since, making it the heart of a long-running anti-government campaign that spilled over into running battles with riot police this week in which two people died and 400 were injured.

Several police officers were shot, one was skewered with a flag pole and another was run over by a truck.

The unrest has hit investor confidence and distracted policymakers from focusing on slowing economic growth and the fallout from the global credit crisis, analysts say. Consumer confidence hit a 10-month low in September.

Police have denied PAD claims that they fired explosives into the crowd this week, insisting they only used teargas.

Several doctors at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok's top medical school, have launched a campaign to deny medical services to police or politicians involved in Tuesday's clashes, the worst street violence in Thailand in 16 years.