Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) — Five university students who used the signature three-fingered salute from “The Hunger Games” in front of Thailand’s Prime Minister were detained Wednesday and told they’ll face a charge of breaking martial law, a lawyer said.
The students were taken away after flashing the salute — popularized by the film’s central figure, Katniss Everdeen (played by Jennifer Lawrence) — at a speech in northeastern Thailand by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to civil servants, according to Phavinee Chimsri, from the group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.
At the time, the quintet in Khon Kaen province — about 450 kilometers (280 miles) northeast of Bangkok — was in a line wearing shirts bearing the words “Don’t want a military coup,” Phavinee said.
A Thai government spokesman did not respond to CNN calls for comment on the matter.
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