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THAILAND: Alleged use of torture to obtain forced confessions in southern Thailand

January 25, 2008

Thai

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION -- URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-013-2008

25 January 2008
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THAILAND: Alleged use of torture to obtain forced confessions in southern Thailand

ISSUES: Arbitrary arrest and detention; torture; impunity; emergency regulations
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END EMERGENCY DECREE IN SOUTHERN THAILAND
http://thailand.ahrchk.net/edecree

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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) previously reported on the alleged torture of two men after their arbitrary arrest and detention in southern Thailand, (see UAC-005-2008). It has since received news of other similar cases involving torture. The latest victims are charged with organizing the Nong Fern Karaoke restaurant bombing in Pattani province.

CASE DETAILS:

According to information from the Working Group and Justice for Peace (Thailand), the three were arrested on 6 December 2007, after being accused of the karaoke restaurant blast. All of them allege that they were tortured at a military unit, camped at Lhak Muang temple (behind the Prince of Songkhla University, Pattani campus). Then they were transferred to the Ingkayuthboriharn Army Camp, and onto the Police Detention Unit at the Yala Police Academy, Yala province.  During their trial they were able to see their relatives briefly (10 December 2007), were taken to the scene of the bombing and also involved in a press conference at Pattani police station (28 December 2007).

During their interrogation, one man describes having been ordered to undress and bathe with cold water, before being taken between a series of very cold or dark rooms for long periods of time, while being pressured to plead guilty. His relatives have reported his physical deterioration, and that his lips were dry and cracked open. Relatives were able to meet with the second man for a few minutes, and found his back covered in bruises. In the third case the victim reported having feet in combat boots pressed at his throat. He told relatives that he had been under pressure to plead guilty, and implicate three of his friends in the blast.

All of them are custody at Pattani prison, but their names, and those of their relatives are being withheld for their own security.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

This incident demonstrates the total impunity with which Thai security forces are operating under the Emergency Decree in the south. The decree was introduced by the former prime minister mid-2005 as part of a heavy-handed approach to the violence in that part of the country, and it grants the army and police even greater powers than under martial law. They cannot be prosecuted for any actions taken under it (see AHRC-PL-056-2006 and read final report).

When the new military regime took power in September 2006 it spoke of easing the conflict in the south, and ending the emergency regulations there (AS-255-2006). Instead it has extended the decree (see further UP-007-2007) until 20 April 2008.

This case also shows how the Emergency Decree results in torture and other serious human rights abuses. State officers are therefore encouraged to keep detainees in secret locations, where they can do whatever they like without fear of being prosecuted. (Please refer to: UA-237-2007, UA-144-2007, AS-024-2007, AS-255-2006, UA-111-2007, UA-034-2007, UA-348-2006)

However, torture is by no means limited to the south of Thailand, and anecdotal evidence suggests that it is widely practiced both by the police and the army across the country. There is no clear law prohibiting torture in Thailand and no effective victim and witness protection program, so alleged perpetrators can easily intimidate complainants into silence. See for example the following cases UP-065-2007: UA-410-2006; UA-233-2006; UP-157-2005; UP-137-2005; UP-088-2005. Please also see torture and death of a man in custody in the region: UA-237-2007, UA-136-2007.

In October 2007, a senior bureaucrat admitted that around 30 per cent of criminal cases in Thailand's courts were probably fabrications (see AS-261-2006). For instance, in November there was a case against 58 men, who were accused of provoking military force during a protest in Narathiwat province--in which some 85 persons (78 in army custody) died. The case was dropped after the state admitted that there was no evidence against them (see AHRC-OL-060-2006).

Article 32 of the new Constitution of Thailand prohibits torture, and the government has signed the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). However, there is no specific provision prohibiting torture under the Penal Code of Thailand. The current legal provisions to deal with torture fall far short of that envisaged by the CAT, and don't effectively address the endemic torture that the AHRC believes persists in the country.

For full details on the decree and violence in the south visit: http://thailand.ahrchk.net/edecree

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Persons accused in narcotics cases are particularly vulnerable in Thailand, as there is a lack of public sympathy for them, regardless of whether the accusations have any substance. In 2003 more than 2500 persons were killed in the government's first "war on drugs" operation (see "Extrajudicial killings of alleged drug dealers in Thailand", article 2, June 2003, vol. 2, no. 3; www.article2.org.)

The sister organisation of the AHRC, the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) released a report entitled "Rule of law versus rule of lords in Thailand" in 2005, which examined torture and other gross abuses of human rights in Thailand (article 2, April 2005, vol. 4, no. 2). Another recent report, "Protecting witnesses or perverting justice in Thailand", deals with the security problems faced by victims of police violence, and their families (article 2, June 2006, vol. 5, no. 3).

ADDITIONAL COMMENT:

These cases all feature ordinary people accused of petty offences--the case for most victims of human rights abuse in Thailand. They are the country's "bad people," and popular sentiment cries "easy come, easy go" (see Strange fruit in Kalasin). Deliberate delays in investigations are giving perpetrators time to destroy evidence and intimidate witnesses, especially when crimes have been committed by serving police officers. The case of abducted human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphajit is one example of this, but there are many others besides. Any reforms of policing in Thailand must place this as a key concern.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the concerned authorities to call for a proper criminal investigation and take a leading role in the investigations and prosecutions of the police. Please also demand that the government of Thailand lift the Emergency Decree over the south.

The AHRC writes separate letters to the UN Special Rapporteurs on the Question of Torture calling for the intervention in this case.

To support this appeal, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,

THAILAND: Please Investigate the torture of three men in southern Thailand

Name of victims: three men (their names withheld for security reasons)
Name of alleged perpetrators:
An unidentified group of soldiers in the military unit at Lhak Muang temple, behind the Prince of Songkhla University, Pattani campus
Brief details of incident:
Three men were arrested on 6 December 2007, accused of bombing the Nong Fern Karaoke restaurant, in Pattani province. All of them report being tortured at the military unit at Lhak Muang temple, being transferred them to Ingkayuthboriharn Army Camp and then sent them to the Police Detention Unit at Yala Police Adademy, Yala province. During their trial they were able to see their relatives briefly (10 December 2007), were taken to the scene of the bombing and also involved in a press conference at Pattani police station (28 December 2007).

The three men have undergone various kinds of torture, while being urged to confess and implicate others. One has suffered severe bruising across his back, one on his chin from a pair of combat boots, and a third was told to undress, wash in cold water and was then kept for long periods of time in various cold, dark rooms. All are now in custody at Pattani prison.

I am writing to urge the government of Thailand to investigate the torture of these three men, to bring their perpetrators justice and to take actions to prevent similar incidents in the future.

This case shows how the Emergency Decree has allowed the military to indulge in torture and other serious human rights abuses in southern provinces. This also a result of there being no direct law to prohibit torture nor any effective witness protection scheme in Thailand. Victims are easily intimidated into dropping their complaints. The Thai government has signed the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment - CAT and provided Article 32 on Constitution 2007 yet has introduced no related domestic law.

I therefore urge the government to investigate this torture case and to provide protection in accordance with the provisions of the Witness Protection Act BE 2546 (2003), as well as medical and psychological treatment. It should enforce tenets belonging to Article 32 in the Constitution of 2007.

The men's cases should be reviewed to determine whether or not any substantial evidence exists upon which to proceed in court. If the allegations are proved, the perpetrators should be identified and prosecuted accordingly.

The government should also be given access to all detainees at the Ingkayuthboriharn Army Camp, Pattani Province and the Police Detention unit at Yala Police Acedamy, Yala Province.
Finally, I call for the Government of Thailand to lift the Emergency Decree overshadowing the southern provinces, and the martial law across Thailand. It should also introduce the UN's Convention against Torture into domestic law. The recommendations of expert bodies on human rights in Thailand and the conflict in the south, notably the National Reconciliation Commission and the UN Human Rights Council in 2005, should be implemented without further delay.

I look forward to your intervention.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Prime Minister
c/o Government House
Pitsanulok Road, Dusit District
Bangkok 10300
THAILAND
Fax: +662 282 8631/ 280 1589/ 629 8213
Tel: +662 280 1404/ 3000
E-mail: spokesman@thaigov.go.th

2. General Sonthi Boonyaratglin
Chief, Internal Security Operations Command
c/o Government House
Pitsanulok Road, Dusit District,
Bangkok 10300
THAILAND
Fax: +662 282 8631/ 280 1589/ 629 8213
Tel: +662 280 1404/ 3000

3. Minister of Justice
Office of the Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice Building
22nd Floor Software Park Building,
Chaeng Wattana Road
Pakkred, Nonthaburi
Bangkok 11120
THAILAND
Fax: +662 502 6699/ 6734 / 6884
Tel: +662 502 6776/ 8223
E-mail: om@moj.go.th

4. Minister of Interior
Office of the Ministry of Interior
Atsadang Road
Bangkok 10200
THAILAND
Fax: +662 226 4371/ 222 8866
Tel: +662 224-6320/ 6341
E-mail: om@moi.go.th

5. Pol. Gen. Seripisuth Themiyavet
Commissioner-General
Royal Thai Police
1st Bldg, 7th Floor
Rama I, Patumwan
Bkk 10330
THAILAND
Fax: +66 2 251 5956/ 205 3738/ 255 1975-8
E-mail: feedback@police.go.th

6. Mr. Theera Mindrasak
Governor, Yala Province
Muang District
Yala 95000
THAILAND
Fax,Tel: +66 73 212 002
E-mail: yala@moi.go.th

7. Lt. Gen. Viroj Buacharoon
Commander
Fourth Army Area
Sirinthon Camp, Khaotoom
Yarang, Pattani 94160
THAILAND
Tel: +66 73 262 598
Fax: +66 73 262 572

8. Mr. Pranai Suwanarat
Director
Southern Border Province Administrative Center (SBPAC)
Yala Provincial Office
Muang District, Yala 95000
THAILAND
Tel/Fax: +66 073 203 802

9. Mr. Chaikasem Nitisiri
Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General
Lukmuang Building
Nahuppei Road
Prabraromrachawang, Pranakorn,
Bangkok 10200
THAILAND
Tel: +662 224 1563/ 222 8121-30
Fax: +662 224 0162/ 1448/ 221 0858
E-mail: ag@ago.go.th or oag@ago.go.th

10. Prof. Saneh Chamarik
Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission of Thailand
422 Phya Thai Road
Pathum Wan District
Bangkok 10300
THAILAND
Tel: +662 219 2980
Fax: +662 219 2940
E-mail: commission@nhrc.or.th

11. Mr. Homayoun Alizadeh
Regional Representative for Asia-Pacific of OHCHR
UNESCAP
UN Secretariat Building, 6th Fl., Room A-601
Rajdamnern Nok Ave.
Bangkok 10200,
THAILAND
Tel: +662 288 1496
Fax: +662 288 3009

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)

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Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-013-2008
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.