ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-039-2008

27 February 2008
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THAILAND: Police illegally detain and forcibly repatriate victims of bomb blast

ISSUES: Denial of right to a lawyer; improper criminal procedure; no investigation
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Dear Friends,

On 22 February 2008 a bomb exploded in a rubbish dump on the border of Thailand, injuring 14 persons from neighbouring Burma, a number of them seriously. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has since learned that instead of ensuring that the victims received proper medical aid and treating them as witnesses in a criminal case, the police illegally detained 11 of them and on February 26 deported them to Burma.

CASE DETAILS:

It was widely reported in the domestic media of Thailand that during the morning of Friday, February 22 a bomb exploded in the municipal dump of Mae Sot. The blast injured at least 14 persons from Burma who were sorting through the rubbish there, causing wounds to their faces, eyes and arms, and damage to their eardrums. Two persons were seriously wounded, including one child.

According to subsequent inquiries by human rights defenders, journalists and lawyers, it seems that the bomb was among rubbish dumped from a truck driven by Somchai Chomjai from the Ban Neua market and may have been intended to explode elsewhere.
However, the police have not conducted a proper investigation into the blast and instead have targetted the victims themselves.

After receiving some outpatient treatment at the district hospital, 11 of the 14 injured persons were called by the police to make reports about the incident. According to witnesses, the police reassured the victims that they would take the people back home after they gave reports. Because of this, not only the victims but also members of their family freely went to the police station.

But instead of taking reports as they said, the police put all the people into the immigration detention cells, because they did not have permits to work or stay in Mae Sot. On the following day, February 23, the police sent an unknown number of family members back to Burma where according to AHRC sources government officials there interrogated them until nightfall.

Human rights lawyers tried to meet with the remaining detainees but were not able to do so. On the morning of February 26, a lawyer had an appointment at the police station but when he went he was told that the officers were unable to see him. At around midday that day, the group was sent back to Burma. The other two persons, who were most seriously injured, are still being treated at the district hospital.

Lawyers from the Cross Cultural Foundation have pointed out that the group are legally entitled to compensation but that this has been denied because the police forcibly sent the group back without any proper inquiries. They are concerned that the police intend to make out that the explosion was an accident of some sort and close the criminal inquiry.

For further details on this case, please also see a recent news item on Prachatai.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THIS CASE:

Although millions of migrant workers in Thailand have had the same legal rights on paper as citizens, for years they were in practice denied opportunities to enjoy those rights. Many cases involving ordinary crimes where migrant workers are victims are not properly investigated. See for instance the case described in this UPI Asia Online commentary.

For general information on human rights conditions in Thailand see the AHRC 2007 country report.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the justice and interior ministers of Thailand to ensure that the remaining persons are not forcibly repatriated, that all of the victims of the blast receive proper medical treatment and compensation, and that the police conduct a full criminal inquiry into the incident.

Please be informed that the AHRC is writing separate letters to the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of migrants, the UN Working Group on arbitrary detention and the UN human rights representative in Bangkok seeking their intervention in this case.

To support this appeal, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear ______________,

THAILAND: Treat and compensate, don't repatriate, victims of bomb blast

Names of victims:
1. Pho Dar, 30, male, seriously injured, being treated in Mae Sot District Hospital
2. Aung Boe Boe, 8, male, seriously injured, being treated in Mae Sot District Hospital
3. Choe Pyone, 28, female, injured, wife of Pho Dar, stay with Pho Dar in Mae Sot District Hospital
4. Saw Phati, 60, male, injured, illegally detained and forcibly repatriated
5. Zaw Min Htun, 25, male, injured, illegally detained and forcibly repatriated
6. Daw Mi, 58, female, injured, illegally detained and forcibly repatriated
7. Zaw Oo, 31, male, injured, illegally detained and forcibly repatriated
8. Phaw Say, 20, female, injured, illegally detained and forcibly repatriated
9. Khin Thandar Oo, 16, female, injured, illegally detained and forcibly repatriated
10. U Than Way, 45, male, injured, illegally detained and forcibly repatriated
11. Chit The, 12, male, injured, illegally detained and forcibly repatriated
12. Daw Nwet, 50, female, injured, illegally detained and forcibly repatriated
13. Ko Win Ko, 39, male, injured, illegally detained and forcibly repatriated
14. Tho Nhai, 50, male, injured, illegally detained and forcibly repatriated
Date of incident: 23-26 February 2008
Place of incident: Municipal Dump Site, Mae Sot, Tak Province, Thailand

I am shocked to learn that persons injured in a bomb blast in Mae Sot, on the border of Thailand and Burma, have instead of being treated as victims have been treated as criminals and forcibly repatriated by the Mae Sot district immigration police, in violation of criminal procedure and their basic rights.

According to information that I have received, after a bomb blast at the Mae Sot municipal dump around 8:30am on 22 February 2008, some 14 persons were treated for injuries. All of the injured persons were from Burma. Among them, two were seriously injured, on an 8-year-old boy.

After getting some treatment, the 11 other persons were called by the Mae Sot District Police to make reports at the police station. Because the people thought that they were going to assist in a criminal inquiry, they went voluntarily, together with family members. But when they arrived at the station, instead of being treated as witnesses, they were all instead put into the immigration detention cells because they do not have work or residency permits.

I am told that human rights lawyers who tried to meet with the detainees were not able to do so and even though they made appointments to meet the concerned police officers, when they came they were told that the police were too busy to meet them. Thereafter, a first group was forcibly repatriated to Burma on February 23 and a second group at around 12pm on February 26, the latter including the 11 injured persons. I am told that when the persons arrived in Myawaddy they were again held and interrogated at length by the authorities there.

It is apparent from the information that I have received that the police are not trying to do any proper criminal investigation but just cover up the incident. According to the information that I have received, the investigating inspector, Pol. Maj. An-nop Chaichan, has already said that there is no need for any further inquiries in this case.

It is also apparent that the police don't care about these victims, as they are poor migrants who lacked proper identity papers. However, irrespective of the legal status of the victims, the police are obliged to follow criminal procedure and the victims are also entitled to certain rights. These include the right to apply for compensation for their injuries under the Compensation for Victims of Crime Act BE 2544 (2001).

I therefore urge that:

1. The remaining two injured persons at the Mae Sot District Hospital under no circumstances be repatriated to Burma without them receiving full medical treatment and having access to lawyers to lodge applications for compensation.

2. The persons already be repatriated be permitted to return to Thailand to seek further treatment as necessary and likewise lodge applications for compensation.

3. The police conduct full and proper criminal inquiries into this incident in order to identify the perpetrators and lodge charges.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Pol. Maj. Chalerm Yoobumrung
Minister of Interior
Office of the Ministry of Interior
Atsadang Road
Bangkok 10200
THAILAND
Fax: +662 226 4371/ 222 8866
Tel: +662 224 6320/ 6341
E-mail: om@moi.go.th 

2. Mr. Sompong Amornvivat
Minister of Justice
Office of the Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice Building
22nd Floor, Software Park Building,
Chaeng Wattana Road, Pakkred
Nonthaburi, 11120
THAILAND
Fax: +662 502 6699/ 6734 / 6884
Tel: +662 502 6776/ 8223

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

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

5. Pol. Gen. Seripisuth Themiyavet
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 

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

Thank you.

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