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THAILAND: Transparency in trial of the killers of a migrant worker demanded

July 22, 2004

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

23 July 2004
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UA-91-2004: THAILAND: Transparency in trial of the killers of a migrant worker demanded

THAILAND: Impunity; violence against women; rule of law
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Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely concerned that a Thai army officer, his wife and another person accused of brutally murdering a Burmese migrant worker have escaped justice for two years, apparently because of the officer’s influence and position of authority. The victim, Ma Suu (18), sustained fatal injuries in July 2002 after her employers, among them the officer, Suchart Akkavibul, set her on fire, alleging she had stolen their possessions. They then dumped her by the roadside. Even though a summons for the arrest of the perpetrators has recently been issued, and they came before the court, they were released on bail.

It is common for the killers of migrant workers in Thailand to avoid punishment. We therefore call for your urgent intervention to ensure that the three persons charged with the murder will be tried in accordance with international standards. Please send a letter to the Minister of Justice and urge him to ensure that the trial of the alleged perpetrators be properly and transparently conducted to ensure that the guilty parties are punished.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of Victim: Ma Suu, 18, a Burmese migrant worker
Alleged perpetrators:
1) Suchart Akkavibul, a special group commander in the Royal Thai Airforce
2) Yuwadee Akkavibul, wife of Suchart Akkavibul
3) Kamrun Ponnikorn, assistant to employers
Date of incident: 4-7 July 2002
Place of Incident: Lop Buri Province, Thailand

On July 16, 2002, Ma Suu, a Burmese migrant worker, died in hospital in Nakhon Sawan province, Thailand, after being allegedly beaten and set on fire by her employers, Suchart and Yuwadee Akkavibul.

Ma Suu had been in Thailand for a year. She had paid 7,000 Thai baht (US$175) to a trafficker to go to work in Mae Sot. After seven months there, she paid another 7,000 Thai baht to another trafficker, who found her work as a house maid in the furniture shop in Lop Buri province owned by the accused, where she received 1,500 Thai baht a month.

After working there for three months, she was accused of stealing mobile phones, gold necklaces and money. Her employer beat her to force her to confess. When she refused, the owner, his wife and another man beat her again until she was bruised all over and passed out. Then she was tied with a rope and brought outside the house. The employers poured gasoline onto her body and set her on fire when she continued to insist her innocence. They later threw water onto her body to stop the fire. She was left in a room without treatment or food for three days.

When Ma Suu regained consciousness, they beat her again. Thinking she was dead, they put her in a car and dropped her in bushes beside a road. At about 3am on July 7, 2002, a man found her on the road, and sent her to a hospital in town. However, she died nine days later, after implicating the accused three persons.

For over two years none of the alleged perpetrators were charged. On June 25, 2004, the provincial police station in the capital of Uthaithanee province finally issued a summons for the arrest of the three. Suchart Akkavibul and his wife appeared in court, and were given bail on the grounds that he is a state officer, although the prosector opposed bail. It is understood by the AHRC that the third accused has agreed to appear as a witness in the case against the other two, and may escape prosecution. On Monday, July 26 the case will go to court. Further details are expected to be forthcoming.

BACKGROUND:

Law enforcement officials in Thailand have for years failed to investigate and prosecute in cases of rape and murder perpetrated against migrant workers. The AHRC has previously reported on a case in January 2002 in which at least 17 Burmese migrants were killed and dumped in a stream (http://massacres.ahrchk.net/maelamao/index.php). In 2003, 6 Burmese men were openly led away and extrajudicially killed by local authorities (http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2003statement/104/). Also in 2003, the police were pressured to act in a rape and murder case of a migrant factory worker only after mass protests by other workers led to the arrest of the perpetrator (http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2003/544/). Most abuses committed against migrant workers in Thailand are investigated only when civil groups and concerned lawyers have become involved in the case. However, within Thailand, many of these persons and organisations are restricted in their ability to act on cases due to threats by the concerned authorities. Therefore, international support is strongly needed.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter, fax, or e-mail to the Minister of Justice urging him to ensure that the accused in this case be prosecuted in accordance with international standards and not escape justice because of influence due to holding a position of authority.

Sample letter:

Dear Sir,

Re: Please ensure that the alleged murderers of Ms Ma Suu are punished

I am writing to request that you ensure that the alleged murderers of Ms Ma Suu, a Burmese migrant worker at a furniture shop in Lop Buri on July 16, 2002, be tried and punished in accordance with international standards.

Ma Suu died because of dreadful injuries resulting from a severe assault by her employers, Suchart Akkavibul, a special group commander in the Royal Thai Armed Forces, his wife, Yuwadee Akkavibul, and an assistant, Kamrun Ponnikorn, after they accused her of stealing her mobile phones, gold necklaces and money. Her employer beat her to force her to confess. When she refused the charges and insisted on her innocence, she was tied up and burnt with gasoline, resulting in fatal injuries.

In fact, Ma Suu exemplifies how migrant workers in Thailand are poorly treated and violently attacked by employers. To protect and promote their human rights, transparent investigation and judicial procedures are needed. Success in bringing the perpetrators of such crimes to justice will prevent future brutal acts against migrant workers, while failure to deliver justice will create more tragedy and suffering, and leave employers feeling free to abuse migrant workers without fear of consequences.

Therefore, I strongly urge you to closely follow this case to ensure that the accused are tried and punished in accordance with international standards. I further request you to provide protection to migrant workers in Thailand and provide them full access to justice.

Sincerely yours,


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Send your letter to:

Mr. Pongthep Thepkanjana
Minister of Justice
Office of the Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice Building
22nd Floor Jangwatana Road
Parkket Nonthaburi 11120
THAILAND
Tel: +66 2 502 6775
Fax: +66 2 502 6734

Send copies to:

1. Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra
Prime Minister
Government House
Pitsanulok Road, Dusit District,
Bangkok 10300
THAILAND
Fax: +66 2 282 8631 or 66 2 629 8213
E-mail: thaksin@thaigov.go.th, govspkman@mozart.inet.co.th

2. Prof. Saneh Chamarik
Chairperson
The National Human Rights Commission of Thailand
422 Phya Thai Road
Pathum Wan District
Bangkok 10300
THAILAND
Fax: +66 2 219 2940
E-mail: commission@nhrc.or.th

3. Dr. Kraisak Choonhavan
Chairperson
Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs
10 Soi Phahonyothin 3
Phayathai, Bangkok 10400
THAILAND
Tel: +66 2 617 2002
Fax: +66 2 617 2003
E-mail: sen013@parliament.go.th

4. Ms. Yakin Erturk
Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women
OHCHR-UNOG
Palais Wilson, 8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9022

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-91-2004
Countries :
Issues :
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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.