PM to unshackle some inmates on May 15
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On May 15, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will ceremoniously undo the shackles on some prisoners in a move to improve the rights of inmates.
Some 500 of the 800 prisoners on death row have been chosen to benefit from this landmark leniency scheme introduced by the Corrections Department.
The move was initiated by the Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand (TRCT), which has been praised by the Independent National Rule of Law Commission (NRLC) for making moves to comply with international standards on human rights.
Those who will benefit from this are inmates on death row as well as those facing death under lower-court rulings, but still awaiting a final verdict from the Supreme Court.
High-profile convicts
Among them are former Army major Chalermchai Matchaklam, who was convicted of killing a provincial governor in a high-profile murder case; and notorious hit man Wisit Phuengrassamee, who ran a network of gun-for-hire rackets.
However, Justice for Peace Foundation chairwoman Angk-hana Neelaphaijit said this scheme only favoured certain groups of inmates and for it really to work, it should be applied to inmates shackled in other prisons as well.
She said the government should make this scheme part of its policy and that it was not necessary to turn it into a big ceremony with Yingluck in attendance.
One of the TRCT’s proposals has already been put into practice, with political detainees or red-shirt protesters arrested in 2010 being moved to detention facilities.
The NRLC’s suggestion about putting inmates on house arrest by having them wear tracking devices is being pursued by the Corrections Department.
