OHCHR 'misunderstood' military court amendment
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THE NATIONAL Legislative Assembly (NLA) said yesterday that the concerns expressed by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and Amnesty International that an amendment to the 1955 Act on the Organisation of Military Courts would aff
Vice Admiral Krisada Charoenpanich, NLA member and secretary of the committee vetting the proposed amendment, said the United Nations’ OHCHR and Amnesty had misunderstood the intentions of the change. Civilians would not be affected as the jurisdiction of martial courts to detain people under the amendment would cover only military officers.
He said the misunderstanding might have stemmed from the current imposition of martial law and the military detention of some civilians, including those accused of violating the lese majeste law.
One such case involved the detention of suspected lese majeste offender Hassadin Uraipraiwan, aka Banpodj, but Krisada noted that the military had only detained Hassadin for two days before bringing him before the military court.
This situation, he said, would only last as long as martial law is in place and has nothing to do with the proposed amendment.
Both the OHCHR and Amnesty expressed concerns this week that the proposed amendment could result in civilians being detained by the order of a military court for up to 84 days without judicial oversight.
