UN welcomes move to drop military’s charges against Thai rights defenders
THE United Nations’ rights office in Southeast Asia has praised a decision by the military to drop a defamation case against three human-rights workers who alleged that troops tortured insurgents in the deep South.
Cross Cultural Foundation director Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, who is also chair of Amnesty International Thailand, Duay Jai Group founder Anchana Heemmina and senior human rights lawyer Somchai Homla-or were facing criminal charges over the publication of a 2016 report that recounted allegations of torture by security forces in the southern border provinces.
The 2016 report, based on interviews with 54 former detainees, described alleged torture tactics used by soldiers and police across the Muslim-majority region, which has been ravaged by a violent insurgency that has spiked in the last 13 years.
Laurent Meillan, acting regional representative of the United Nations’ Human Rights Office for Southeast Asia, said yesterday: “Today’s developments are very positive, and we encourage the government of Thailand to take additional steps to strengthen measures to protect activists carrying out human rights reporting and monitoring.”
He also urged authorities to drop similar charges against other human rights defenders, including prominent human rights lawyer Sirikan Charoensiri.
“Our office supports today’s plans to establish mechanisms whereby the military, activists and other concerned stakeholders will come together to review and investigate allegations of human rights violations in the South,” Meillan said in a statement yesterday.
The trio faced up to seven years in jail for defamation and a separate charge filed for publishing the report online.
But the Army’s southern command spokesman unexpectedly said yesterday the charges would be dropped.
“We didn’t want the three human rights activists punished,” Colonel Pramote Prom-in told reporters after meeting the trio in Bangkok, adding the charges would be withdrawn shortly.
He repeated the Army's denial of any torture and said the military has its own “measures to punish” abuses.
Pornpen said she and the other activists stood by their report and welcomed the Army’s pledge to “re-establish the relationship” with rights workers in the South through a committee to report abuse.
More than 6,800 people – mostly civilians – have been killed in the insurgency by Malay Muslim militants against the state.
The insurgents are ruthless in their tactics – targeting troops and police, civilians seen as collaborators with the state, and suspected informants. But the military has also faced accusations of abuse, including extra-judicial killings.
The UN Human Rights Committee, which monitors implementation by states of a major international human rights treaty, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is due to review Thailand in Geneva next Monday and Tuesday.
