Home / News / Urgent Appeals / UPDATE (Thailand): Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit is still missing and the police may be involved in his disappearance

UPDATE (Thailand): Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit is still missing and the police may be involved in his disappearance

March 25, 2004

UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

Update on Urgent Appeal 25 March 2004

[RE: FA-06-2004: THAILAND: A human rights lawyer Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit missing]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
UP-14-2004: THAILAND: Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit is still missing and the police may be involved in his disappearance

THAILAND: Disappearances; Human rights defenders
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely concerned of a prominent human rights lawyer, Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit, who has been missing since 12 March 2004. It is alleged that the police have been upset with Somchai after he accused of excessive use of force against five of his clients accused of taking part in the January 4 raid on an Army camp in Narathiwat. Human rights activists in Thailand believe Mr. Somchai might have been abducted by state authorities.

Please send a letter to the Government of Thailand and request them to conduct a thorough inquiry into this matter and take speedy action for finding Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit.

To see our previous urgent appeals regarding this case, please visit: http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2004/637/

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
-----------------------------------------------------

UPDATED INFORMATION:

It is reported that Thailand Authorities admit that low-ranking officers may be behind Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit's disappearance. Deputy National Police Chief Pol Gen Charnchit Bhiraleus did not rule out the possibility that the abduction could have been carried out by "low-ranking officers". Human rights activists in Thailand believe Mr. Somchai might have been abducted by state authorities.

Mr. Somchai was last seen at the hotel before leaving for his brother's house in Bang Kapi district on the night of 12 February 2004. He went missing after he said publicly that his clients were beaten, and asked court permission to have them medically checked and transferred from police hands.

It is alleged that the police have been upset with Somchai, following his allegations about excessive use of force against five of his clients accused of taking part in the January 4 raid on an Army camp in Narathiwat. A court has agreed to Somchai's request that the five suspects be transferred from the Special Branch jail, where they were allegedly beaten, to Bang Khen Central Prison.

Pattani Senator Den Tohmeena told the Senate of "irregularities" in the police story of raid. He noted that Anuphong had confessed to police that he had hidden 100 stolen weapons at his home, but the police had not found or returned them, he said. It's also unbelievable that a plot to raid the camp - in which police said some 200 people might have been involved - was planned over a single night at Najmuddin Umar's residence, he said. On 23 March 2004, the Senate voted to form a special committee to follow Somchai's disappearance. His case, they said, could have serious implications for the country's judicial system.

Mr. Somchai's car found abandoned on Ramkhamhaeng road in Mor Chit and its rear bumper showed signs of being hit. Khunying Porntip Rojanasunan, deputy director of the Justice Ministry's Central Institute of Forensic Science, inspected the car on 20 March 2004. She said she was confident Mr. Somchai was in an accident on the night of March 12 when he disappeared. Mr. Somchai had renewed his car insurance two weeks before his disappearance and had not demanded compensation for the damaged bumper. It could be assumed that the car accident had just occurred, she said.

AHRC is gravely concerned of the allegation of police officers' involvement on Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit's disappearance. AHRC strongly urge the Government of Thailand to conduct a thorough inquiry into this matter and take speedy action for finding Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter, fax or email to following addresses and express your concern about this serious case.

1. Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra
Prime Minister
Government house,
Pitsanulok Road, Dusit District,
Bangkok 10300
THAILAND
Fax: +66 2 282 8631
Email: govspkman@mozart.inet.co.th

2. Professor Saneh Chamarik
Chairperson
The National Human Rights Commission of Thailand
422 Phya Thai Road
Pathurn Wan District
Bangkok 10300
THAILAND
Fax: 662 219 2940
Email: commission@nhrc.or.th

3. Mr Pongthep Thepkanjana
Minister of Justice
Office of the Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice Building 22nd Floor
Jangwatana Road, Parkket
Nonthaburi 11120
THAILAND
Fax: +662 502 6699

4. HE Purachai Piumsombun
Minister of Interior
Ministry of Interior, Thanon Atsadang, Bangkok 10200, THAILAND
Tel: +662 224-6320/6341
Fax: +662 226-4371
Email: webteam@moi.go.th

5. Mr. Jahanshah Assadi
Regional Representative
UNHCR Regional Office for Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam
3rd floor, United Nations Building
Rajdamnern Avenue, Bangkok 10120
THAILAND
Fax: (662) 280 0555; 281 6100
Email: assadi@unhcr.ch

6. Mr. Saied Rajale Khorasani
UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
C/o OHCHR-UNOG, 1211 Geneva 10,
SWITZERLAND
Tel: 41 22 9179830
Fax: 41 22 9176009

7. Ms. Hina Jilani
UN Sepcial Represetative of the Secretaary-General on Human Rights Defenders
C/o OHCHR-UNOG, 1211 Geneva 10,
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9006

Sample letter:

Dear

Re: The Government of Thailand should take speedy action to find Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit

I am writing to bring to your attention the disappearance of a prominent human rights lawyer, Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit. Mr. Somchai is still missing since 12 March 2004.

According to the information I have received, Deputy National Police Chief Pol Gen Charnchit Bhiraleus admitted the possibility that the abduction could have been carried out by "low-ranking officers". It is reported that the police have been upset with Somchai after he accused of excessive use of force against five of his clients accused of taking part in the January 4 raid on an Army camp in Narathiwat.

Therefore, I strongly urge the Government of Thailand to conduct an independent and thorough inquiry about this matter. The Government of Thailand should bear the responsibility of Mr. Somchai's disappearance and must take speedy action to find the whereabouts of Mr. Somchai.

Yours truly



----------------------------

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-14-2004
Countries :
Campaigns :
Issues :
Share |
Subscribe to our Mailing List
Follow AHRC
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.