THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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Junta must come clean over ‘disappeared’ activists

Junta must come clean over ‘disappeared’ activists

Govt risks tarnishing Thailand’s reputation further amid international concern at fate of missing dissidents

Demands to reveal the fate of three missing Thai political activists in exile are growing after their family members questioned authorities only to be stonewalled by the government.
The three activists – Chucheep Chiwasut, who broadcasts political commentary online, and two colleagues, Siam Theerawut and Kritsana Tupthai – have been accused of lese majeste.
Those found guilty under Thailand’s lese-majeste law face up to 15 years in jail for insulting the monarchy.
According to Human Rights Watch, Vietnam handed the dissidents over to Thailand on May 8. But no one seems to know of their whereabouts, much less acknowledge their arrest. Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan insists the activists are not in Thai custody, but the government has been tight-lipped and vague in answering questions. Eventually it will have to come clean. The sooner the better, because Thailand is once again under international scrutiny for suspected human rights abuse.
Critics and dissidents, including academics, have fled Thailand ever since the current junta came to power five years ago with a coup against an elected government. 
Some escaped to neighbouring Laos and Cambodia to avoid charges and jail terms, while others were given asylum in Western countries.
But it is believed that Chucheep, Siam and Kritsana had relocated from Laos following the disappearance of three other Thai dissidents who had also sought shelter in the landlocked country.
The bodies of two of those men – Chatcharn Buppawan and Kraidej Luelert – were found in late December in the Mekong River, disembowelled and with concrete stuffed into their stomach cavities. As expected, 
the Thai government denied any responsibility for their murder.
“The long arm of repression also reaches across the border as exiled dissidents have been pursued”, said Sunai Phasuk, senior Thai expert for Human Rights Watch. “Nowhere is safe.”
Amnesty International also called on the Thai government to provide answers in this latest case of disappeared critics.
“We call on Thai authorities to acknowledge if they are in military or police custody and establish their whereabouts. If they are in state 
custody, we urge the authorities to ensure that the three men are held in an official place of detention and have immediate access to independent lawyers, doctors and family members,” said Amnesty International’s senior director for Global Operations, Minar Pimple.
This past Friday, Jatupat Boonpattaraksa, also known as Pai Daodin, a young prominent pro-democracy activist who was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for sharing an unflattering BBC profile of HM the King on Facebook, was freed by a royal pardon a little more than a month before his sentence was due to end. 
 The release of Pai Daodin should not, however, be billed as a game-changer in Thailand’s treatment of government critics and dissidents.
Thai authorities have a moral and legal obligation to get to the bottom of the case involving Chucheep, Siam and Kritsana, regardless of their political stance. Not doing so risks further damaging our national reputation at a time when the country is going through a crucial transition to at least semi-civilian rule.
Assuming that the activists are in Thai custody as suspected, the authorities need to either charge them with a criminal offence and treat them according to international standards, or else release them. 

 

 

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