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UPDATE (Thailand): Alleged torturer appears as prosecution witness in criminal case against victim in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Provincial Court while Thai government delegation to UN Human Rights Committee declares that the accused have been investigated

July 22, 2005

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

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

22 July 2005
[RE: UP-10-2005: THAILAND: Updated information on the torture of the four men by the Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya police, UP-04-2005: THAILAND: Repeated torture at Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Police Station; UA-170-2004: Anther case of torture to obtain confession at Ayutthaya Police Station, UP-75-2004: Demand immediate criminal action against police torturers, UP-71-2004: More serious allegations of police torture emerge in Thailand, UA-153-2004: Two cases of extremely serious torture and cruel and inhuman treatment by Thai police officers]
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UP-88-2005: THAILAND: Alleged torturer appears as prosecution witness in criminal case against victim in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Provincial Court while Thai government delegation to UN Human Rights Committee declares that the accused have been investigated and punished

THAILAND: Torture; Impunity; Need for effective investigation mechanism for torture perpetrators; Government inaction; False information provided by the government to the UN Human Rights Committee?
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that an alleged torturer, Pol. Lt-Col. Suebsak Pinsaeng of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya District Police Station, appeared as the witness for the prosecution in a criminal case against one of his reported victims. The AHRC has previously reported on this case which involved Mr Anek Yingnuek being allegedly brutally tortured in September 2004 by a group of police officers led by Pol. Lt-Col. Suebsak. (See further: UP-10-2005, UP-04-2005, UA-170-2004, UP-75-2004, UP-71-2004, UA-153-2004).?The officers allegedly tortured Mr Anek by electrocuting him through a bag of ice placed over his genitals, in an attempt to have him implicate a number of friends in a robbery charge.

Astonishingly, at the same time as Pol. Lt-Col. Suebsak was appearing in court as a witness for the prosecution in this case, a delegation of the Government of Thailand to the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva declared that the alleged torturers had been investigated and punished. Yet the AHRC is not aware of any criminal investigation having commenced or pending against the accused officers and Pol. Lt-Col. Suebsak’s presence in court gives support to this.

The AHRC has also obtained detailed information regarding at least two other victims of Pol. Lt-Col. Suebsak, Mr Ekkawat Srimanta and Mr Metta Saiphan, which suggests that the officer concerned may be a mentally unbalanced serial torturer. Despite submission of this evidence by the AHRC and family members of the victims to numerous government and quasi-government agencies, we are not aware of any criminal prosecution or pending against the accused officers. Meanwhile, Mr Metta and one other person have been given a ten-year jail sentence based upon a testimony allegedly extracted under torture.

On 20 May 2005, the AHRC was informed in writing by the Deputy Director General of the Department of Rights and Liberties Protection, Mr Kobkiat Kasivivat, that the cases of Mr Anek Yingnuek, Metta Saiphan and others had been transferred to the National Counter Corruption Commission. He also wrote that the accused officers, Pol. Lt-Col. Suebsak Pinsang, Pol. Sgt-Maj. Winai Kampang, Pol. Snr Sgt-Maj. Wichai Kernumnuay, Pol. Snr Sgt-Maj. Panya Enon, Pol. Sgt. Wasan Mingkwan and Pol. Cpl. Pitak Chamcharas had been removed from duty.

Though the AHRC would welcome this action on the part of Ministry of Justice, it would also highlight the insufficiency of this if after an internal investigation the Royal Thai Police found that the officers identified were responsible for brutal torture. Criminal charges would be the only course of action to take if this were the case.

However, despite Mr Kasivivat’s written guarantees that justice had been served in removing the officers from their duty, Pol. Lt-Col. Suebsak’s presence as a witness for the prosecution against Mr Anek demonstrates the contrary. Furthermore, when the defense lawyer alleged in court that Pol. Lt-Col. Suebsak had tortured his client; the court refused to admit his argument. It did, however, accept the testimony of Pol. Lt-Col. Suebsak, who also insisted he had not tortured anyone. When asked as to his status as a police officer, Pol. Lt-Col. Suebsak replied that he was returning to active duty as the case of Mr Ekkawat, which obtained media attention is quiet now.

In light of this we ask that you intervene in this case. Please write to the Minister of Justice to voice your strong condemnation of Pol. Lt-Col. Suebsak’s court appearance, the Thai government’s inaction in properly investigating the accused officers in this case, and its blatant lie in informing the UN Human Rights Committee that it had investigated and punished the perpetrators, when all evidence suggests that it has not. Evident from this case is that there is no adequate means by which persons can make complaints of torture and other gross abuses by the police and have them investigated and the perpetrators prosecuted. The government, therefore, must take all necessary steps to remedy this serious institutional gap. One such step, and undoubtedly the most important, would be to ratify the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment without delay.


SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the Minister of Justice and request his intervention in this case.

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Sample letter:

Dear Mr Suwat

THAILAND: Alleged torturer appears as prosecution witness in criminal case against victim in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Provincial Court while Thai government delegation to UN Human Rights Committee declares that the accused have been investigated and punished

I write to voice my strong condemnation that alleged torturer, Pol. Lt-Col. Suebsak Pinsaeng of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya District Police Station, has appeared as the witness for the prosecution in a criminal case against one of his reported victims. I am aware that Pol. Lt-Col. Suebsak allegedly led a group of police officers in brutally torturing Mr Anek Yingnuek in an attempt to have him implicate a number of friends in a robbery.

While I would have expected this case to be thoroughly investigated and serious criminal charges laid, the presence of Pol. Lt-Col. Suebsak as a witness for the prosecution against Mr Anek demonstrates that no such action has taken place. Furthermore, I have learnt that when the defense lawyer alleged in court that Pol. Lt-Col. Suebsak had tortured his client, the court refused to admit his argument. It did, however, accept the testimony of Pol. Lt-Col. Suebsak, who also insisted he had not tortured anyone. When asked as to his status as a police officer, Pol. Lt-Col. Suebsak replied that he was returning to active duty as another case allegedly implicating him in further torture, which obtained media attention, is quiet now.

Along with Pol. Lt-Col Suebsak’s apparent return to duty, if indeed he was ever suspended from it, his presence in court strongly contradicts claims made by a delegation of the Government of Thailand to the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva that the alleged torturers had been investigated and punished.

The presence in court of Pol. Lt-Col. Suebsak, however, and his admission that he has returned to work, demonstrates that the delegation to the UN and the Ministry of Justice have not told the truth in the actions taken against the police officers. Given the nature of the claims made against these officers, and the brutal torture that took place, failing to investigate these police officers is entirely unacceptable and must be remedied without delay.

Under these circumstances, I write to you calling for your intervention. Pol. Lt-Col. Suebsak’s court appearance, the Thai government’s inaction over the allegations of torture, and its blatant lie in informing the UN Human Rights Committee that it had investigated and punished the perpetrators, when all evidence suggests that it has not, are factors that require your immediate attention. Evident from this case is that there is no adequate means by which persons can make complaints of torture and other gross abuses by the police and have them investigated and the perpetrators prosecuted in Thailand. The government, therefore, must take all necessary steps to remedy this serious institutional gap. One such step, and undoubtedly the most important, would be to ratify the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment without delay. That step would do much to ameliorate the worsening criticism over the situation of human rights in Thailand.

I look to your intervention in this matter.

Yours sincerely,


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PLEASE WRITE TO:

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
Tel: +662 2 502 6776/ 8223
Fax: +662 502 6699/ 6734 / 6884

PLEASE SEND COPIES TO:

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

2. Pol. Gen. Kowit Wattana
Commissioner-General
Royal Thai Police
1st Bldg, 7th Floor
Rama I , Patumwan,
Bangkok 10330
THAILAND
Tel. +662 205-1313/ 205-220/ 205-1840-9
Fax: +662 251-5956/ 205 3738/ 255 1975-8

3. Professor Saneh Chamarik
Chairperson
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

4. Mr Kantathi Suphamongkhon
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Sri Ayudhya Road
Bangkok 10400
THAILAND
Fax: +662 643 5320
Tel :?(662) 643-5333

5. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
Attn: Mr. Safir Syed
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 917 9016 (general)
E-mail: ssyed@ohchr.org


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-88-2005
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.