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UPDATE (Thailand): Thai PM orders action on missing human rights lawyer, while court hears of torture

April 1, 2005

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

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME
Update on Urgent Appeal

1 April 2005

[RE: FA-06-2004: THAILAND: A human rights lawyer Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit missing; UA-94-2004: THAILAND: Severe torture victims still in custody while police torturers remain in posts; UP-14-2004: THAILAND: Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit is still missing and the police may be involved in his disappearance; UP-26-2004: THAILAND: 5 suspects in the alleged abduction of missing human rights lawyer Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit bailed out; UP-20-2005: THAILAND: Human rights lawyer still missing after nearly one year; Action needed today to have case transferred; UP-24-2005: THAILAND: Thai minister refuses to act on missing human rights lawyer case]
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UP-37-2005: THAILAND: Thai PM orders action on missing human rights lawyer, while court hears of torture

THAILAND: Disappearances; Attacks on human rights defenders; Impunity; Government inaction; Torture
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Dear friends,

Further to our last update on the case of the human rights lawyer Mr Somchai Neelaphaijit, who was abducted over one year ago (UP-24-2005), the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has heard that the Prime Minister of Thailand has ordered two deputy prime ministers to take action on the investigation. It is not clear what action exactly the deputies will take.

The order was given at a cabinet meeting of the new government, after the former Justice Minister had said that he wouldn’t transfer the case from the hands of the police to the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) under his ministry.

Meanwhile, in the hearings against five police accused of having abducted Mr Somchai, the Bangkok Criminal Court heard on March 21 from two of the men he had been defending before he disappeared.
Makata Harong and Sukri Maming both testified that they had been severely tortured by a number of police (UA-94-2004). They identified in court one of the five police accused of abducting Mr Somchai, Police Major Ngern Thongsuk, as among the officers who tortured them. However, no investigation has been taken regarding their allegations of torture, and they have obtained no redress. This is partly because Thailand has no provisions for inquiries into allegations of torture, and no specific law under which to prosecute the alleged perpetrators. It is also because the police remain in control of investigations, and have obstructed attempts at investigation by outside parties.

Mr Somchai has not been seen since his disappearance.


RESOURCES ON THE CASE AND FORCED DISAPPEARANCES IN THAILAND

The sister organisation of the AHRC, the Asian Legal Resource Centre, has recently submitted a detailed report on Thailand to the UN Human Rights Committee, which includes a discussion on the case of Mr Somchai and forced disappearances in Thailand. To learn more go to 'Institutionalised torture, extrajudicial killings & uneven application of law in Thailand'. It has also submitted a written statement to the UN Commission on Human Rights: 'Disappearance of a prominent human rights lawyer and impunity in Thailand', and has recently prepared a submission on the case for the UN Working Group on enforced disappearances. 

Together with the Thai Working Group on Human Rights Defenders, the AHRC released a Thai-language booklet on the disappearance of Mr Somchai marking 365 days since he went missing. The booklet will be made available for viewing on the AHRC Thailand website shortly (http://thailand.ahrchk.net). A postcard can be downloaded and sent to the Prime Minister also, in English and Thai. Copies of the booklet and postcard can be obtained by contacting the working group or the AHRC.

To see our previous appeals on this case please visit FA-06-2004, UP-14-2004, UP-26-2004, UP-20-2005 and UP-24-2005.

Please also see a recent statement on a new proposed centre for missing persons in Thailand: AS-33-2005.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)


SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please send a letter on the case to the Prime Minister of Thailand. A sample letter follows. Please also download and send a printed version of the postcard.

You can be assured that the consistent pressure being applied to the government in this case is having an effect: in its absence, this case would have been quietly pushed to one side a long time ago. It is most important that the perpetrators of Mr Somchai's disappearance be held to account, because without success in this case it is unlikely that any other victims of forced disappearances in Thailand will obtain justice. So your letters and postcards count. Thank you for your support.


Sample letter:

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Dear Dr Thaksin

RE: Missing human rights lawyer Mr Somchai Neelaphaijit
 
I was pleased to hear of your recent order that the investigation of the case of missing human rights lawyer Mr Somchai Neelaphaijit be followed closely by two of your deputy prime ministers, in order that some progress be made.

In this regard, I urge that the case be transferred to the Department of Special Investigation under the Ministry of Justice. It is a mystery as to why the case still remains in the hands of the police, when police officers are accused of having carried out the abduction. You will understand that until such a time as the investigation is transferred to a semi-independent agency, it will continue to lack credibility.

I also note in relation to the case, that two of Mr Somchai's clients who were allegedly tortured by the police have testified to this effect in court. However, no information has yet been received of any substantive investigations into the alleged acts of torture, or necessary action taken. I urge you to see to it that something be done to resolve this dissatisfactory situation.

Not only can it be said that nothing has been done regarding the torturers in this case, but it appears that in all cases of police torture brought to the attention of your government, an effective response has been lacking. To remedy this situation, I call on your government to ratify the UN Convention against Torture and introduce it into domestic law without delay.

Finally, I was also gratified to hear of a plan to establish a missing persons centre in Thailand in the near future. In order that the proposed centre can operate effectively, I trust that a law will also be introduced in Thailand to make forced disappearance a criminal offence.

Yours truly


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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

Dr Thaksin Shinawatra
Prime Minister
Government House
Pissanulok Road, Dusit
Bangkok 10300
THAILAND
Tel: +662 280 1404/ 3000
Fax: +66 2 282 8631/ 280 1589/ 629 8213
Email: thaksin@thaigov.go.th, govspkman@mozart.inet.co.th


PLEASE SEND COPIES TO:

1. Mr Suwat Liptapanlop
Minister of Justice
Office of the Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice Building
22nd Floor
Chaeng Wattana Road
Pakkred, Nonthaburi
Bangkok 11120
THAILAND
Fax: +662 502 6699/ 6734 / 6884
Email: ommoj@moj.go.th

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

3. Pol. Gen. Sombat Amonwiwat
Director-General
Department of Special Investigation
Ministry of Justice Building
Chaeng Wattana Road
Pakkred, Nonthaburi
Bangkok 11120
THAILAND
Fax: +66 2 913 7777
Email: dir.gen@sid.go.th

4. Mr. Diego Garcia-Sayan,
Chairperson
UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
C/o OHCHR-UNOG, 1211 Geneva 10,
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9006
E-mail: urgent-action@ohchr.org

5. Ms Hina Jilani
Special Representative of the Secretary General on human rights defenders
Att: Ben Majekodunmi
Room 1-040
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9006
E-mail: bmajekodunmi@ohchr.org


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-37-2005
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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.