PRESS RELEASE
AHRC-PL-25-2005

Wife of missing Thai human rights lawyer "fearing for her safety"

(Hong Kong, April 19, 2005) The wife of forcibly disappeared Thai human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit is "fearing for her safety" after being approached by suspected government intelligence officers, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) said on Tuesday.

In a letter to the Thai justice minister Suwat Liptapanlop, the Hong Kong-based regional human rights organisation expressed alarm that Angakana Wongrachain had been questioned and intimidated by phone and at her house.

"Yesterday morning Ms Angkana Wongkrachain had a telephone call from a man whose voice she recognised as being that of a government intelligence officer," Basil Fernando, executive director of the AHRC said.

"He asked about her interventions in the United Nations on the case of her missing husband," he said.

On April 15, Angkana submitted a formal complaint to the U.N. Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances with the assistance of the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), the sister organisation of the AHRC, and the Thai Working Group on Human Rights Defenders.

A statement on her behalf was read by the ALRC before the U.N. Commission on Human Rights annual session in Geneva on April 18.

In the statement she expressed concern that government efforts to uncover the whereabouts of her husband lack sincerity.

Two weeks earlier an unidentified man came to Angkana and warned her against making publicity about her husband's case, the AHRC said.

"The AHRC is very concerned by these incidents, which are clearly directed towards intimidating Ms Angkana from continuing with her initiatives to hold the government of Thailand accountable for the disappearance of her husband," Fernando said.

"Such intimidation of a family member of a forcibly disappeared person who has from the beginning simply asked for justice is completely intolerable," he said.

"It may well be asked that if the wife of a prominent victim such as Somchai Neelaphaijit faces this kind of intimidation then what hope can the families of ordinary victims have?" he observed.

The AHRC called on the minister "to take immediate and unqualified steps to guarantee the safety of Ms Angkana and her family".

"I urge you to make a public commitment that your government will take full responsibility to ensure that no threats or harm befall this family, and also instruct the Director-General of the Department of Rights and Liberties Protection without delay to utilise all necessary resources to ensure the same," Fernando said.

"It is essential that these steps be taken not only for the protection of this family but also in order to send a message that threats against the families of rights abuse victims will not be tolerated," he said.
 
The AHRC again expressed disappointment at the apparent lack of progress in the Somchai case, despite two deputy prime ministers having been appointed to get results.

It also accused the government of lying to a U.N. official by informing him that an independent committee had been established under the Department of Special Investigation to probe the case.

"There is no evidence that such a committee actually exists," Fernando said.

"In fact, all evidence is to the contrary, as your predecessor on more than one occasion was publicly reported as having said that there was no need for the Department of Special Investigation to handle the case," he said.  

On March 11, the AHRC took the unusual step of submitting a petition on the case to His Majesty the King of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej, expressing dissatisfaction over efforts to resolve the lawyer's disappearance.

Somchai was taken from his car in the suburbs of Bangkok on March 12, 2004, after publicly accusing the police of torturing his clients.

Five policemen are standing trial on charges related to his disappearance. However, they deny the charges and have not disclosed any information on his whereabouts.

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About AHRC The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.