Anti-government protesters wear Harry Potter costumes in Bangkok

Anti-government protesters wore Harry Potter costumes in Bangkok, Thailand, today (August 3).

The demonstrators said they were inspired by the work of J.K.

Rowling in which the young wizard overcomes Voldemort, whom they likened to the country's military government.

One of the leaders of the protests, wearing a black Hogwarts robe, said: ''We want democracy now.

This government has no legitimacy.'' Unrest has been growing in recent years after the Thai army lead by career soldier General Prayut Chan-o-cha seized power following a military coup in 2014.

A liberal opposition party called Future Forward which won widespread support at last year's elections was later banned by the government.

There have been a growing number of protests since March lead by pro-democracy activists and large numbers of students.

Lats month, angry protesters gathered at the Democracy Monument in Bangkok for a rally that saw scuffles with police.

They were angry at the lack of transparency, accountability and democracy in the country - tensions that have built over several years since the controversial military leadership seized power following a coup in 2014 and won an election in 2019.

There were some scuffles as police battled to contain the crowd with metal barriers but they were quickly calmed down.

Many of the protesters held up a three finger salute - adapted from the Hunger Games movie - and wore black shirts as a sign of mourning for democracy.

There were then several speakers.