Two anti-establishment protesters were arrested by Thai police, on Saturday afternoon, after they and their colleagues defied police orders to disperse and to refrain from putting up a banner calling for the repeal of the country’s lèse-majesté law (Section 112 of the Criminal Code).

The protesters gathered at the Victory Monument at about noon, with several of them writing messages protesting against the lawon the 110 metre long banner.

Phya Thai police, led by Pol Col Bovornphob Sunthornraekha, arrived at the scene used a megaphone to tell the protesters to disperse, claiming that they were assembling illegally, in violation of the Emergency Decree.

A scuffle broke out when police moved in to seize the banner, followed by another one when a traffic police officer tried to grab the ignition key of a motorcycle being ridden by one of the onlookers.

Two unidentified protesters were arrested and reportedly taken to the barracks of the Region 1 Border Patrol Police Bureau in Pathum Thani province.