THAILAND: Harassment and Threat to Woman Human Rights Defender in Tak Bai

Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to draw your attention to the harassment and threats faced by Ms. Yaena Salaemae, a long-time Woman Human Rights Defender (WHRD) in Tak Bai district of Narathiwat province in southern Thailand. The state authorities used an attack on a police checkpoint near her house to search her house and intimidate her. The AHRC believes that this is an outright attempt to intimidate Ms. Yaena and cause her to cease her work calling for justice in the case of the Tak Bai massacre and other cases of human rights violations in southern Thailand. The Asian Human Rights Commission is particularly concerned about the relationship between the threats to Ms. Yaena Salaemae and the ongoing status of the Tak Bai case, and is concerned that this recent harassment may be an attempt by the state to halt progress on the case. 

CASE DETAILS: (According to the information received from the Justice for Peace Foundation (JPF)) 

At 1.30 p.m. on 19 April 2011, unidentified men dressed in clothing similar to army uniforms robbed a vegetable delivery truck and used that truck to attack a police checkpoint in Paiwan subdistrict on the Narathiwat-Tak Bai Road. The checkpoint is located at Salachuak, Moo 6, Salamai, Tak Bai district, Narathiwat. Although there was some damage to the checkpoint from the bullets used during the attack, there were no injuries. 

Three hours later, at 4.30 p.m. on 19 April 2011, approximately 20 armed police and army officers surrounded and searched the house of Ms. Yaena Salaemae in Tak Bai district of Narathiwat province. The officers did not present an arrest warrant from the court and only informed Ma. Yaena that they chose to conduct the search based on information from an informant who claimed that Ma. Yaena Salaemae might have been involved in the attack on Paiwan checkpoint. The officers only searched Ms. Yaena’s house – her neighbors’ houses were not searched and they were not questions. No illegal items were found and no suspects were arrested. A record of search confirming this was made and Ms. Yaena signed it. At the conclusion of the search, one of the officers told Ms. Yaena that she should not share information about this incident with Ms. Angkhana Neelaphaijit, chairperson of the Justice for Peace Foundation. By mentioned Ms. Angkhana Neelaphaijit, the state security officials were also indirectly threatening her. 

ABOUT MS. YAENA SALAEMAE: 

Ms. Yaena Salaemae is a prominent human rights defender in southern Thailand. She has worked closely with the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand and has joined international human rights meetings organized by Frontline International in Dublin in 2009 and the Asian Human Rights Commission in Kwangju, South Korea in 2010. 

In particular, she has consistently worked to end impunity in the case of the 25 October 2004 Tak Bai massacre, in which state officials have not yet been held to account and the victims and families of victims have not yet received justice. On 25 October 2004, approximately 1500 citizens were protesting what they believed was the unjust arrest of six Village Defense Volunteers on charges of allegedly stealing guns from the local armory in Tak Bai district of Narathiwat province. Seven civilians were shot and killed during the fighting in front of the Tak Bai police station. At the conclusion of fighting, all remaining protestors were arrested and security forces prepared to transport them to Ingkayuthboriharn Army Camp in neighboring Pattani province, as there was not a facility large enough in Narathiwat to detain 1500 people. 

The 1500 protestors were transported the roughly 140 kilometers from Tak Bai district to Inkayuthboriharn Camp in military trucks. There were only twenty-eight trucks available, and so the arrested protestors were handcuffed and then stacked, in four or five horizontal layers in the back of the trucks. An additional 78 people died on the way or shortly after arrival at Inkayuthboriharn. The post-mortem examinations, which were carried out on 26 October 2004, concluded that the causes of death included the following, at times in combination: asphyxiation, pressure on one’s chest, blunt object injuries, and seizures. In May 2009, the Songkhla provincial court ruled that although the 78 people died while in state custody, state officials had not improperly carried out their duties. [See http://thailand.ahrchk.net/takbai/ for more information]. 

In early 2011, Ms. Yaena led the victims and families of victims to submit a motion urging the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand to file a criminal lawsuit on behalf of the victims for truth and justice in the case of Tak Bai. Technically, this is the duty of the NHRC, but they have not yet taken it up. Since engaging in this action, Ms. Yaena has been interrogated and intimidated by a range of army officers in relation to the potential criminal lawsuit. In addition to this work, she has also assisted Thai PBS in producing a documentary of the Tak Bai massacre. 

Ms. Yaena Salaemae does not have any personal disputes with anyone inside or outside the government. In 2007, her husband was assassinated in their village. The assassin is still at-large. She feels as though the current threats to her are related to her role as a human rights activist. 

SUGGESTED ACTION: 
Please write to the Thai authorities and request that they cease their intimidation and harassment of Ms. Yaena Salaemae.

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