Court details accounts of witnesses as it begins reading verdict on high-profile Rohingya traffickin
The Criminal Court analysed accounts of 36 state witnesses who were trafficking victims and by officials probing the case, as it began reading its verdict on Wednesday morning in the high-profile human-trafficking case involving an Army general and 102 other defendants.
The reading began at 8.30am. By 11am, the court had finished providing a summary of accounts of witnesses and then it started reading its analysis of the behaviours of the defendants.
The verdict runs into about 500 pages and the reading is expected to continue until the evening.
In the first part of the verdict, the court summarised the accounts of witnesses on the behaviour of the defendants, specifying responsibilities of the defendants who ran a Rohingya detention camp in the Khao Kaew mountain from where the Rohingya were smuggled to Malaysia.
The verdict dwelt on witnesses’ accounts of the defendants who were in charge of food and water supplies, and defendants who beat up the Rohingya, as well as defendants who prohibited the use of phone.
The court said it was told that food and water were inadequate for the detained Rohingya and the detained Rohingya faced death threats to prevent them from using their phones or from fleeing the camp. The court was also said it was told the victims were beaten up when they asked for more food and water.
The court stated in the first part of the verdict that it believed the victims had given their testimonies based on their experience.
