Thai junta chief gives military broad new police-like powers

FILE - In this June 1, 2014 file photo, Thai soldiers guard an overpass to prevent anti-coup demonstration in Bangkok, Thailand. Thailand's junta chief has given the military broad new police-like powers to arrest and detain criminal suspects, in an unannounced move that rights groups criticized Wednesday as a recipe for human rights violations. The order, which Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha issued in a late Tuesday night decree, March 29, 2016, comes amid a wider crackdown on civil liberties. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this May 29, 2014 file photo Thai soldiers form a line while guarding a bus stop area to prevent an anti-coup demonstration at Victory Monument in Bangkok, Thailand. Thailand's junta chief has given the military broad new police-like powers to arrest and detain criminal suspects, in an unannounced move that rights groups criticized Wednesday as a recipe for human rights violations. The order, which Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha issued in a late Tuesday night dectree, March 29, 2016, comes amid a wider crackdown on civil liberties. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this June 8, 2014 file photo, Thai soldiers walk after being deployed to guard at Bangkok's Victory Monument, Thailand. Thailand's junta chief has given the military broad new police-like powers to arrest and detain criminal suspects, in an unannounced move that rights groups criticized Wednesday as a recipe for human rights violations. The order, which Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha issued in a late Tuesday night decree, March 29, 2016, comes amid a wider crackdown on civil liberties. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn, File) (The Associated Press)