Two Italians remain in Thai cell

(ANSA) - Bangkok, January 10 - Two young Italians who were arrested in Thailand for pulling down several national flags and throwing them to the ground this week have been convicted and handed suspended sentences, diplomatic sources said Tuesday.
    Tobias Gamper, 20, and Ian Gerstgrasser, 18, will remain in a cell at a police station in the town of Krabi for the time being, pending deportation, sources said.
    The punishments handed down on Tuesday will be made public only on Wednesday but suspended sentences are not possible with prison terms of over two years. According to the deportation procedure, the pair will be handed over to the Thai immigration police in the next few days and then taken to a temporary detention centre in Bangkok before being expelled. They are likely to be deported in a few weeks' time.
    They were arrested at their guesthouse after being caught on CCTV tearing down five Thai flags from the awnings of some shops in Krabi on Saturday night. The Italians, who were made to apologize in a video, tried to justify their actions by saying they were drunk after spending all night in a pub.