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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

3 May 2007
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UA-144-2007: THAILAND: Young man allegedly illegally detained & tortured by army

THAILAND: Torture; impunity; emergency regulations; martial law; forced confession; fabricated evidence; military rule; lack of witness & victim protection
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END EMERGENCY DECREE IN SOUTHERN THAILAND
http://thailand.ahrchk.net/edecree

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Dear friends,

The Working Group on Justice for Peace (Thailand) has informed the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) about the alleged horrific torture of a 23-year-old teacher named Sukri Ar-dam in southern Thailand. Sukri was arrested by the police acting under special powers to deal with the ongoing conflict in the south, and he was then handed over to soldiers. He was held in an army camp for more than seven days without charge, during which he was allegedly tortured severely. He is now again in police custody and is in serious need of protection.

CASE DETAILS:

Around 4pm on 10 April 2007, Sukri Ar-dam left his residence in his father's car and stayed overnight near where he was teaching at the English Study Camp in Yala province. He stayed with his classmate from Prince of Songkhla University, Pattani Campus.  Sukri has been active at the university since his student days, working on student social camps and making visits to various areas to meet local people.

Around 4pm the following day, April 11, he volunteered to drop some friends off from the study camp in central Pattani district, before returning home to Napradoo in the same province. Around 7pm as he drove to the village entrance, and passed a police checkpoint. The police stopped him and searched his car. As his license and car insurance had expired, they asked him to produce his ID card. They then informed him that an arrest warrant had been issued for him by the local police station, whereupon they took him to Inkayuthboriharn Army Camp in Nongchick District, Pattani. At 9pm Sukri called his brother-in-law and informed him that he was being held in custody there.

On April 12, Sukri's sister went to the camp but was denied permission to visit him. On April 16 his family went to the camp but once again was denied access. They were informed that the commanding officer would not allow the relatives of the suspects from Napradoo to receive visitors.

Sukri was not the only one arrested. Before him, soldiers had surrounded houses in Napradoo and arrested Abdulfahta, Muhama Waekachi, Kamaruding Moosor and two other suspects in connection with the beheading of local resident Chuan Kaewthongprakam on 8 February 2007. On April 19 a state officer brought Sukri's sister to visit Kamaruding in Inkayuthaboriharn Camp. Kamaruding told her that a police officer had informed him that Muhama Waekachi, another suspect, had confessed to the crime and so Kamaruding should also make a confession. Sukri's sister observed that while he was talking an officer named Hayeeyusoh came to pat him on his shoulder. Later the officer took her to visit Muhama Waekachi, who told her that he and six others had done it, and that Sukri was one of them. He said that Sukri was responsible for keeping a watch while the others committed the crime and that he had burnt tyres, scattered nails and sprayed paint on the road and nearby signboards. However, on the date of the murder Sukri has an alibi, as he was teaching in the local Islamic school.

On April 26, a member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Thailand and his team went to visit Sukri in the camp. Sukri testified that he was tortured while in custody. He told the NHRC fact-finding team that he was tortured by persons who were not in uniform. He was taken to an inquiry room on April 11, where he was kicked, assaulted and strangled by a well-built man until he felt difficult to breathe. He was then transferred to another inquiry room, where seven to eight men took turns to torture him. He was kicked in all parts of his body, and the perpetrators flicked his genitalia. Sukri was also forced to take off his underwear and put it onto his head. The torture lasted for about two to three hours until he was unconscious. The NHRC fact-finding team also observed scars and severe injuries on his knees, back and mouth. 

On April 27, 28 and 29 Sukri's relatives were again denied permission to visit him.

On May 1, the police applied to the Pattani Provincial Court, requesting to extend Sukri's period of detention under the Emergency Decree. Sukri's lawyers filed another application against the request, arguing that the suspect was detained unlawfully. They also asked the court to release him. The court arranged an inquiry to decide the legality of the detention on the next day.

On May 2, the police requested the court to issue an arrest warrant. The court rejected the request as Sukri is already detained. However, the police requested the court to transfer him from the army camp to Kokpho District Police Station. The court granted the police's request to detain him for 12 days. 

On today May 3, Sukri's lawyers are again requesting the court to grant him bail.

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BACKGROUND:

The Emergency Decree was introduced in mid-2005 in the southern provinces of Thailand to combat the violent conflict in the area. It grants the army and police with wider powers than the martial law. The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings has commented that the Decree makes it possible for officers to get away with murder. When the military regime took power in September, it voiced concerns about ending the emergency regulations in the south. However, it has instead kept extending the Decree (see further UP-007-2007).

This case shows how the the Emergency Decree results in torture and other serious human rights abuses. Persons can be detained for up to 30 days without any charge, and they are held outside of conventional detention facilities as they are not yet considered as formally charged. State officers are therefore encouraged to keep detainees in secret locations, and do whatever they like without fear of being prosecuted. (Please refer to: AS-024-2007; AS-255-2006; UA-111-2007; UA-034-2007; UA-348-2006)

Torture is also not limited to the south of Thailand. Anecdotal evidence suggests that it is widely practiced both by the police and the army across the country. Since there is neither any law prohibiting torture nor any effective witness protection scheme in Thailand, the victims and witness are easily intimated to drop their complaints. (Please refer to the following cases: UA-410-2006; UA-233-2006; UP-157-2005; UP-137-2005; UP-88-2005)

In October 2006, a senior bureaucrat admitted that perhaps 30 per cent of criminal cases in Thailand are fabricated (see AS-261-2006). For instance, in November 2006, 58 men were accused of causing the military to use force against a protest outside the Tak Bai police station in Narathiwat province, which lead to the deaths of some 85 persons, 78 in army custody. The case was dropped after the state admitted that there was no evidence against them (see AHRC-OL-060-2006).

Although there are a new law and a new office for protection of witnesses and victims, protection is offered only by the police on their own terms. It is ineffective in cases which the security forces are themselves the perpetrators. (See: Protecting witnesses or perverting justice in Thailand, article 2, vol. 5, no. 3, June 2006.)

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the relevant Thai authorities to seek justice and protection for the victim. Please also urge the government in Thailand to lift the Emergency Decree and join the UN Convention against Torture as soon as possible.
 
To support this appeal, please click: 

Suggested letter:

Dear __________,

THAILAND: Young man allegedly illegally detained & tortured by army

Name of the victim: Sukri Ar-dam, 23-year-old English teacher, residing in Napradoo Subdistrict, Khokpo District, Pattani Province
Alleged perpetrators: Unidentified Royal Thai Army personnel in Ingkayuthboriharn Army Camp, Pattani District.
Place of incident: Pattani District, Pattani Province
Dates of incident: 11-13 April 2007

I am writing to express my concerns about the alleged brutal torture of Sukri Ar-dam by personnel of the Royal Thai Army. According to the information I received, Sukri was arrested by the police acting under special powers to deal with the ongoing conflict in the south. He was held in an army camp for more than seven days without charge, during which time he was allegedly tortured severely. He is now again under police custody and detained in Kokpho District Police Station. He is in serious need of protection.

I have learned that Mr. Sukri was arrested at a police checkpoint and detained at the Ingkayuthboriharn Army Camp in Pattani District. He was accused of being involved in the beheading of a villager in Napradoo Subdistrict on 8 February 2007. Mr. Sukri denied this and soldiers allegedly tortured him to force a confession. He was taken to an inquiry room on April 11, where he was kicked, assaulted and strangled by a well-built man until he felt difficult to breathe. He was then transferred to another inquiry room, where seven to eight men allegedly took turns to torture him. The perpetrators kicked different parts of his body, and flicked his genitalia. Sukri was also forced to take off his underwear and put it onto his head. The torture lasted for about two to three hours until he was unconscious. His family was only able to visit him 10 days after he was arrested and detained in army custody. 

A National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) fact-finding team visited him on April 26 and documented the case. Team members also observed scars and severe injuries on his knees, back and mouth. 

This case shows how the Emergency Decree in the southern provinces in Thailand enables the military to abuse its power, and leads directly to torture and other serious human rights abuses. This combined with the fact that there is neither any law prohibiting torture nor any effective witness protection scheme in Thailand, means that the victims are easily intimated to drop their complaints. Successive administrations have made many claims that the country would soon join the UN Convention against Torture and introduce a related domestic law, but such claims have never been materialized.

I therefore urge the government to provide Mr. Sukri with protection in accordance with the provisions of the Witness Protection Act BE 2546 (2003), as well as medical and psychological treatment. An independent investigation should be launched to look into his allegations of torture. If the allegations are proved, the perpetrators should be identified and prosecuted accordingly; Mr. Sukri should also be offered with sufficient compensation. Mr. Sukri's case should be reviewed to determine whether or not any substantial evidence exists upon which to proceed in court. The NHRC should also be given access to all detainees at the Ingkayuthboriharn Army Camp.

More generally, I call for the Government of Thailand to lift the Emergency Decree over the southern provinces, and martial law over the whole of Thailand. The government should also ratify the UN Convention against Torture and introduce it into domestic law. The recommendations of expert bodies on human rights in Thailand and the conflict in the south, notably the National Reconciliation Commission and the UN Human Rights Council in 2005, should be implemented without further delay.

I look forward to your intervention.

Yours truly,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:

1. General Surayud Chulanont
Interim Prime Minister
c/o Government House
Pitsanulok Road, Dusit District
Bangkok 10300
THAILAND
Tel: +662 280 1404/ 3000
Fax: +662 282 8631/ 280 1589/ 629 8213
E-mail: spokesman@thaigov.go.th 

2. General Sonthi Boonyaratglin
Commander-in-Chief
c/o Royal Thai Army HQ
Ratchadamnoen Nok Road
Bangkok 10200
THAILAND
Tel: +662 280 2432-5
Fax: +662 280 2436

3. Pol. Gen. Seripisut Temiyavet
Commissioner-General
Royal Thai Police
1st Bldg, 7th Floor
Rama I, Patumwan
Bkk 10330
THAILAND
Fax: +66 2 251 5956/ 205 3738/ 255 1975-8
E-mail: feedback@police.go.th

4. Mr. Charnchai Likitjitta
Interim Minister of Justice
Office of the Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice Building
22nd Floor Software Park Building,
Chaeng Wattana Road
Pakkred, Nonthaburi
Bangkok 11120
THAILAND
Tel: +662 502 6776/ 8223
Fax: +662 502 6699/ 6734 / 6884
Email: ommoj@moj.go.th

5. Mr. Aree Wongaraya
Interim Minister of Interior
Office of the Ministry of Interior
Atsadang Road
Bangkok 10200
THAILAND
Tel: +662 224-6320/ 6341
Fax: +662 226 4371/ 222 8866
Email: ommoi@moi.go.th

6. Mr. Panu Uthairat
Governor
Pattani Provincial Office
Decha Road, Muang District
Pattani 94000
THAILAND
Tel/Fax: +66 073 335 917

7. Mr. Pranai Suwanarat
Director
Southern Border Province Administrative Center (SBPAC)
Yala Provincial Office
Muang District, Yala 95000
THAILAND
Tel/Fax: +66 073 203 802

8. Mr. Pachara Yutidhammadamrong
Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General
Lukmuang Building
Nahuppei Road
Prabraromrachawang, Pranakorn
Bangkok 10200
THAILAND
Tel: +662 224 1563/ 222 8121-30
Fax: +662 224 0162/ 1448/ 221 0858
E-mail: ag@ago.go.th or oag@ago.go.th 

9. Prof. Saneh Chamarik
Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission of Thailand
422 Phya Thai Road
Pathum Wan District
Bangkok 10300
THAILAND
Tel: +662 2219 2980
Fax: +66 2 219 2940
E-mail: commission@nhrc.or.th 

10. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
Attn: Mr. Safir Syed
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 9179016 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR TORTURE)

11. Ms. Leila Zerrougui
Working Group on arbitrary detention
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: WORKING GROUP ARBITRARY DETENTION)

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)