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THAILAND: Threats to human rights defender and family in Bangkok

June 23, 2009

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-064-2009

24 June 2009
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THAILAND: Threats to human rights defender and family in Bangkok

ISSUES: Human rights defenders; Threats
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BOOK ON THE CASE OF SOMCHAI NEELAPHAIJIT
READING BETWEEN THE LINES
http://material.ahrchk.net/docs/ReadingBetweenTheLines.pdf 

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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Working Group on Justice for Peace (WGJP) that two cars are belonging to the family of Angkhana Neelaphaijit, a prominent human rights defender, were broken into this month. The break-ins followed her urging a special investigation unit under the justice ministry to reopen the files on the disappearance of her husband, human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit, and treat it as a murder since a court has now declared him legally dead. Nothing was stolen from the vehicles and the break-ins appear to be connected to the case. 

CASE DETAILS:

On the morning of 7 June 2009, a Honda Civic, license no. Por Nor 6786, that belonged to disappeared lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit, was broken into outside his family's house in Bangkok. The small window on the right hand side of the car was broken in order to unlock the door. Several of Somchai's belongings were moved within the car, including a prayer hat, a copy of the Qur'an, and a mobile phone charger, but nothing was stolen even though the car contained valuables such as a radio-tape player. Angkhana Neelaphaijit, Somchai's wife, reported the break-in to the head of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), which is responsible for investigating his case, the police headquarters and local police. The local police and a forensic investigation team arrived at the house quickly and took fingerprints. An umbrella and the broken window were subsequently found in a garbage can opposite the house.

Three days later, at 2am of June 10, the family's Honda Accord, license no. Por Yor 8574, which belongs to Angkhana Neelaphaijit herself and was also parked at the house, was broken into in the same manner. There was no stolen property but an old purse and cards were dropped in a trash bin opposite side of the house. Officers investigated the fingerprints but found no matching prints with those on Somchai's car or to those on the police databases. After this incident, the police took some measures to protect the family.

Angkhana Neelapaijit believes that the break-ins are intended to again threaten her and her family due to the ongoing pressure and developments regarding the disappearance of her husband. She has recently had several meetings with high-ranking officials, including the prime minister and justice minister, to lobby for greater action. In March 2009, the case was highlighted by the Canadian delegation during the reporting of the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances at the Human Rights Council (AHRC-FST-020-2009), at the time of a public commemoration in Bangkok of the fifth anniversary of Somchai's disappearance (AHRC-STM-068-2009). Moreover, the Organization of Islamic States has also urged the government to resolve the case of Somchai's disappearance as well as those of large-scale killings in the south of Thailand.

ADDITION INFORMATION:

Angkhana Neelapaijit recently petitioned the civil court to declare her husband missing so she could take control of his assets (AHRC-FST-021-2009). The civil court took up the petition and declared on 18 May 2009 that Somchai was a missing person as he had been missing for five years, which means that Somchai legally died on 12 March 2009 when the five years expired since he disappeared, under the Civil and Commercial Code sections 61 and 62. It was also reported in the Bangkok Post on 19 May 2009 that the one police officer sentenced to three years in jail in connection with Somchai's disappearance, Pol Maj Ngern Thongsuk of the Crime Suppression Division, is believed to have fled the country after having been released from jail while appealing the verdict. Earlier this year he had reportedly gone missing in a flood. Human rights defenders are suspicious that his death was faked. Angkhana had requested the police at the time to investigate the whereabouts of the officer's body, which was not found.

There have been further developments in the Somchai case. Pol Lt Gen Panupong, head of police Region 7 (Ratchaburi province) withdrew from his post and Pol Gen Tanee, the chief investigator of the Somchai case within the DSI, is now looking for new evidence and witnesses in the area. At the same time, the National Counter Corruption Commission is preparing to deliver their investigation results into the torture allegations brought forward by Somchai Neelepaijit before he disappeared (AHRC UA-94-2004).

Further, Angkhana is chairman of Working Group Justice for Peace which is one of a handful of groups in Thailand in recent years that has systematically documented and reported abuses in the South. The branch office in Pattani province in Southern were also raid 2 times by a group of soldiers and police on February and March of this year. AHRC already issued the urgent appeal on this February incident (AHRC-UAC-011-2009).

Furthermore, Angkhana has supported the victims of alleged police killings and disappearances in Kalasin Province, northeastern Thailand, to complain to the DSI about their cases. See: UA-136-2007, UP-065-2007, UP-073-2007, UP-099-2007, and Strange fruit in Kalasin. Recent reports indicate that the DSI will charge police in connection with these alleged incidents.

For a full range of documents on the case of Somchai Neelaphaijit see the AHRC campaign page: http://campaigns.ahrchk.net/somchai/ 

For a report on the defects in the witness protection system in Thailand, including discussion of Angkhana's case, see: Protecting witnesses or perverting justice in Thailand

For further on human rights issues in Thailand read the 2008 country report of the AHRC.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write letters to the authorities listed below, urging them to investigate the raids on two cars of Neelaphaijit family and stop threats against human rights defenders in Thailand.

Please be informed that the AHRC is writing separate letters to the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights defenders and the UN human rights office in Bangkok calling for intervention in this matter.

To support this appeal, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear _________,

THAILAND: Break-ins of cars in Bangkok and threats to human rights defender and family

Victims: Angkhana Neelaphaijit, chairperson of the Working Group on Justice for Peace, wife of disappeared human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit, and family
Alleged perpetrators: Unknown
Dates of incidents: Between 1am – 5am on 7 June 2009 and about 2am on 10 June 2009
Vehicle details: Honda Civic license no. Por Nor 6786, belonging to Somchai Neelapaijit; Honda Accord, license no. Por Yor 8574, belonging to Angkhana Neelapaijit
Place of incident: Soi Isaraphap 11, Isaraphap Road, Thonburi, Bangkok

I am writing to express my deep concern that two cars belonging to the family of human rights defender Angkhana Neelaphaijit were broken into in Bangkok on the nights of 7 and 10 June 2009 following pressure on the government of Thailand to resolve the case of disappeared lawyer, husband of Angkhana, Somchai Neelaphaijit.

Briefly, I am informed that the car belonging to Somchai was broken into by somebody between 1 and 5am on 7 June 2009. The perpetrators stole nothing from his car, even the valuable radio player, but several of his possessions were moved around, including his prayer hat, a copy of the Qur'an, and a mobile phone charger. This car has been parked in front of the Neelapaijit family house since Somchai was forcibly disappeared.

Three days later, the car belonging to Angkhana Neelaphaijit, Somchai's wife, was also broken into in the same manner, around 2am on 10 June 2009. Again, items were moved but no valuable things were stolen.

I am also informed that the raids were conducted after Angkhana got a court order for Somchai to be declared legally dead under sections 61 and 62 of the Civil and Commercial Code. Then she urged the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) under the Ministry of Justice to investigate Somchai's case as a murder case and to find the perpetrators. Angkhana was also recently supporting victims of alleged police killings and disappearances in the northeast to lodge complaints with the DSI.

Even though Angkhana is a well-known human right defenders and a person in the public eye, she and her still family are still exposed to these types of blatant attempts to intimidate and silence her, in the case of her husband and others like it that go on constantly in Thailand. The extent to which this sort of behaviour can occur in high-profile cases indicates how much more people who have no connections, people who are not known outside their localities, can be threatened and if necessary, targeted for attacks, killing and disappearances. It also shows how weak the witness protection system remains in Thailand, and how little security anyone in the country has after making complaints against public authorities. 

I urge that a special investigation be made into this case without delay. Furthermore, Angkhana, her family and the witnesses and relatives of victim in cases where complaints have been lodged against the police should be provided protection under the Witness Protection Act BE 2546 (2003).

I also join in calls for the case of disappeared lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit to be once and for all resolved. Although five years have passed and the authorities in Thailand might have expected that his case would be forgotten, it has not: it remains an international embarrassment for Thailand and will continue to remain one until the police responsible for his abduction and killing are brought to justice, instead of being allowed to continue serving as so-called officers of the law.

I look forward to your prompt action.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva
Prime Minister
c/o Government House
Pitsanulok Road, Dusit District
Bangkok 10300
THAILAND
Fax: +66 2 288 4000 ext. 4025
Tel: +66 2 288 4000

2. Mr. Chaowarat Chanweerakul
Minister of Interior
Office of the Ministry of Interior
Atsadang Road, Ratchabophit
Pranakorn, Bangkok 10200
THAILAND
Fax: +66 2 226 4371/ 222 8866
Tel: +66 2 224 6320/ 6341
E-mail: om@moi.go.th 

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

4. Mr. Kasit Piromya
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affair
443 Sri Ayudhya Road
Bangkok 10400
THAILAND
Fax: +662 643 5318
Tel: +662 643 5333
E-mail: om@mof.go.th


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)


Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-064-2009
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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.