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Edwin Wiek expected to spend Thursday night in the local provincial jail.

The Dutch wildlife activist, who runs an acclaimed wildlife rescue centre south of Bangkok, wanted to shame Thailand's Department of National Parks over its abysmal record on wildlife prosecutions.

But Mr Wiek had not counted on the support of the head of the forestry police, Major General Sawaek Pinsinchai.

General Sawaek got up early on Thursday and drove to the provincial court in Phetchaburi to voice his disgust. The charges against Mr Wiek were 'politically motivated' and 'unjust', he told the court.

General Sawaek then handed over 100,000 baht ($20,300) of his own money to post bail for the activist, who was facing charges over a lack of documents for animals at his wildlife rescue centre.

Mr Wiek's prosecution is seen as a classic example of how local officials often retaliate against foreigners 'who stir up trouble' in Thailand.

The Dutchman has led calls for the return of dozens of orang-utans smuggled in from Indonesia to Safari World, a Bangkok theme park.

Supporters say Mr Wiek is being persecuted by national parks officers for his key role in pursuing the orang-utan scandal, which received extensive publicity worldwide at the time of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) conference in Bangkok last September.

The Dutchman  has been charged in relation to 19 animals seized in July by national parks officials from his wildlife centre, which is home to more than 150 animals, most of which have suffered abuse, are sick or have physical disabilities.

Mr Wiek, head of the Wildlife Friends of Thailand, said that around the time his centre was raided he had received several warnings to back off the orang-utan case and stop interfering in the department's business.

He has been acting as a representative for the Borneo Orang-utan Survival Foundation, which has been pressing the Thai government to return more than 50 orang-utans at Safari World, where the animals perform in boxing shows and pose in photos with tourists.

The case against Mr Wiek is extraordinary, given the department's lack of action against Safari World - allegedly the biggest smuggling case involving endangered primates.

General Sawaek has sought to file charges against Safari World for illegal possession of orang-utans.  But the department, which is usually party to all wildlife prosecutions, has been slow to act on the case.

DNA tests on the Safari World apes confirmed in December  that many of them were smuggled into the country and not bred in captivity, as originally claimed by the park's owner.

Preecha Ratanaporn, a national parks official in Phetchaburi, denied the case against Mr Wiek was connected to the Safari World orang-utan case. 'He must follow our law,' he said. 'He has many species of animals and he had no permit for them. That's why he's in trouble.'



Where wildlife activists are an endangered species