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THAILAND: Hundreds detained under emergency regulations

June 16, 2010

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-089-2010



16 June 2010
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THAILAND: Hundreds detained under emergency regulations

ISSUES: Emergency decree; rule of law; illegal detention
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Dear friends,

The authorities in Thailand have extended the emergency declaration imposed in response to anti-government protests, and which enables arbitrary detention with minimal judicial oversight. To date the police have released the names of over 400 persons who have been held under its provisions, most of who about few if any details are known. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is calling for the lifting of the emergency, full details of persons held, and their prompt charging in accordance with ordinary criminal law or release.

OVERVIEW:

On 9 June 2010 the police in Thailand released a list of 417 persons who have been detained under the Emergency Decree imposed in response to the anti-government protests that gripped Bangkok in April and May. The full list is available here (and also on the independent news website Prachatai, here).

As is typical of police records in Thailand, the list is incomplete, inconsistent and otherwise problematic. It includes the names of children and Burmese migrants whose circumstances are unknown, the names of persons who are apparently adults but are being held at juvenile facilities, the names of seven persons who have been held for two months apparently without charge, and three persons who have already apparently been sentenced to two years' imprisonment. Some of the persons' alleged offences are also seemingly unrelated to the protests, such as being drunk and using drugs.

The list apparently only covers persons in police custody who are facing charges and does not include persons held in non-police custody and in non-official detention facilities as envisaged under the Emergency Decree. The numbers of these persons are unknown. It also does not include persons who are known to be in police custody in connection with the protests, such as an Australian who alleged in court that he has been assaulted in custody.

As the government on June 8 extended the emergency by another month, there is a grave risk that many more persons could be arbitrarily detained, that those already detained could be imprisoned without evidence or fair trial, and that detainees could face other forms of grave human rights abuse, including torture, extrajudicial killing and enforced disappearance.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The AHRC has followed events in Thailand closely and earlier issued a statement calling for the lifting of the emergency, for full accounting of persons in detention, and for their civil rights to be guaranteed (AHRC-STM-080-2010). For other recent statements and appeals on detainees see also ALRC-CWS-014-01-2010, AHRC-FOL-008-2010, and AHRC-FST-040-2010.

The AHRC has since 2002 studied and worked on the situation of human rights in Thailand, its sister organisation issuing the first comprehensive report on extrajudicial killings and attendant abuses during the so-called "war on drugs" of the ousted government of former Prime Minister Pol. Lt. Col. Thaksin Shinawatra: http://www.article2.org/pdf/v02n03.pdf.

In 2005 it issued a comprehensive report on rule of law issues in Thailand: http://www.article2.org/pdf/v04n02.pdf.

In the same year it strongly condemned the passing of the Emergency Decree that the current unelected government has used to crack down on protestors: http://thailand.ahrchk.net/edecree/.

And in 2006 it was at the front of international opposition to the military coup: http://thailand.ahrchk.net/docs/AHRC_Thailand_Coup_2006.pdf.

For a recent overview of Thailand’s non-compliance with its international human rights obligations, see: ALRC-CWS-014-04-2010.

For further information on Thailand visit the AHRC Thailand website or go to the AHRC homepage and type Thailand into the search box on the top left hand side.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the persons listed below to call for the lifting of the Emergency Decree in Thailand, for a complete and accurate accounting of persons held in detention in connection with the protests in Bangkok and for guarantees of their civil rights.

Please be informed that the AHRC is writing separate letters to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the regional human rights office for Southeast Asia concerning detainees in Thailand.

To support this appeal, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear ___________,

THAILAND: Police issue list of 417 persons detained over Bangkok protests

I am writing to express my concern over the situation of persons detained in the aftermath of the protests that shook Bangkok during April and May 2010 and that have captured international attention.

I am aware that on 9 June 2010 the Royal Thai Police issued a list of 417 persons detained over the protests under the Emergency Decree BE 2548 (2005). However, the list is highly problematic. Apart from containing few details about the persons detained, other than their names and alleged crimes, it contains the names of children who are apparently being detained at juvenile facilities, of migrants from Myanmar who may or may not have been involved in the incidents, and of at least three persons held for alleged crimes that seem unconnected with political activity (drunkenness and use of drugs).

Additionally, according to the list, at least seven persons have been held at the Klong 6 Detention Centre, Phathumthani for two months without charge, while another three have already been convicted and sentenced to two years in jail in connection with the protests.

On the other hand, the list does not appear to include persons known to have been held in police custody, including an Australian and an English national, and nor does it appear to include persons held in the custody of the Royal Thai Army or other agencies, whose numbers could also be in the hundreds.

I fear that the persons held under the Emergency Decree and in highly ambiguous and fluid circumstances could be subject to a range of gross human rights abuses, which apart from arbitrary detention include torture, extrajudicial execution and enforced disappearance.

Accordingly, I urge the Government of Thailand to lift the decree without delay, to charge or release promptly all persons currently in detention, to transfer all persons to police custody, have them brought before judges in accordance with the terms of the Criminal Procedure Code, and to guarantee their civil rights, including to have access to lawyers, family members and other concerned persons.

To facilitate this process, I also urge the government to arrange for the International Committee of the Red Cross to have access to all places of detention and all detainees in accordance with its globally recognized mandate.

Finally, I urge the government to arrange for the holding of new, free and fair elections at the earliest possible opportunity and for an end of military attempts through proxies to obstruct amendment to the anti-democratic 2007 Constitution of Thailand, as without addressing the underlying mistrust of the political process that has emerged as a consequence of the 2006 coup and displacement of the 1997 Constitution it will be impossible for the authorities in Thailand to work for national reconciliation as they have promised to do.

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
E-mail: spokesman@thaigov.go.th or abhisit@abhisit.org

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 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 (AHRC) (ua@ahrc.asia)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-089-2010
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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.