Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) previously reported on an alleged killing of a young man in Kalasin, northeast Thailand, by the police (UA-136-2007). We have so far documented over 20 similar killings and forced disappearances by the same group of officers. In this update we give details of three more of their alleged extrajudicial killings: a young man was found dead in a public park after he had been arrested; a teenager disappeared after being in custody; a businesswoman and her secretary were abducted after she refused to pay bribes. None of the alleged perpetrators have ever been brought to justice.
Case 1: Pravit Sattawuth: Tortured to death during the “war on drugs”
In mid-February 2004, Pravit Sattawuth (aka Pednoi), 22, fought with some people in his house on Thasinca Road in Kalasin district. His neighbors said that a policeman was involved. After, the police came and took him away. When he returned home, he told his mother that they had assaulted him.
On 24 February 2004, three policemen from Kalasin District Police Station again came to Pravit’s house. They were not in uniform. They brought him to the police station. Pravit’s girlfriend went to the station to look for him, but he was not there. At that time, the “war on drugs” was in its first month of operation and many teenagers had been arrested by the police over drug-related cases (see “Extrajudicial killings of alleged drug dealers in Thailand“, article 2, June 2003, vol. 2, no. 3; www.article2.org). The police had earlier come to Pravit’s house and accused him of being an addict and a drug dealer. According to the family, Pravit had earlier used amphetamines, but had quit the habit in early 2003.
Around 6-7 pm of the same day, Pravit’s body was found in Kudnamkin public park. According to his relatives, the post-mortem examination showed that he had been severely tortured before his death. A boy working in a Caltex gas station owned by a policeman from Kalasin nicknamed Montry later found Pravit’s wallet and returned it to his parents. Local people believe that Montry was connected with the young man’s death. Nobody now knows about the whereabouts of the boy who worked in the gas station, and Pravit’s friends have gone to work in Bangkok.
Case 2: Krischadol Pancha: Disappeared after Bail
On 19 July 2004, police arrested 15-year-old Krischadol Pancha (a.k.a. Micky) and two friends, Surasak Poonklang (a.k.a. Tam) and Rames Teerathassiripoj (a.k.a. New) for alleged robbery in Chumchon Market. Micky was reportedly arrested while he was paying fines in the police station; Tam and New were arrested at their homes, without any arrest warrants being shown. The police told the three to give up the 2300 Baht (USD 55) and knife that they had allegedly used in the robbery; however, they denied the accusations and were allegedly beaten by the police.
The next day Micky obtained bail. His grandmother, Thip Pancha, went to Kalasin District Police Station after lunch to bail him out and pick him up. A policeman told her that the release order had not yet arrived, and asked her to wait at home. In the evening, when Micky had not come home, Thip went back to the station again to ask his whereabouts. This time a policeman told her that he had been released, and asked her to go back home and wait. Thip wondered why the police released her grandson in the absence of his guardian.
Micky has never been seen since. According to witnesses, the police told Micky that they would drop him at home; a policeman who was not in uniform allegedly took him out of the police station at around 3pm. At that time the other two friends were still detained in the police station and waited for their relatives to come. The three were later found guilty of robbery; Tam and New were sent to juvenile detention in Khon Kaen. Thip forfeited bail because Micky never came to court.
The abduction and presumed killing of Micky follows exactly the same pattern as that of 17-year-old Kietisak Thitboonkrong, who was detained in the police station around the same time and was later found tortured to death and dumped in a neighbouring province (UA-136-2007).
Case 3: Oynapa Sukprasong: Abducted after refused to pay bribes
Oynapa Sukprasong, a 34-year-old businesswoman, was a broker for the government lottery who paid “protection” money to the police to run other gambling activities on the side. In 2004, a second group of police sent their representative to demand money, but she refused because she was already paying to another group. The latter group then searched her house twice, and seized her son’s computer. They subsequently detained her and her secretary, Wanthana Thakpama, overnight without filing charges. She then stopped her underground lottery business and also ceased paying the police. One to two weeks before she was taken away, a factory worker of hers who used to be an agent for the illegal lottery was also taken away for interrogation.
On 2 December 2004, Oynapa and Wanthana went to the Buddhist ceremony at Buengwichai in Kalasin district. Oynapa’s red van was found abandoned on 227th St in Huay Srithon. That night some of the policemen whom Oynapa used to pay came to her house and talked to her husband, Opas Sukprasong. They asked him if his wife had gone missing, and if he would like them to find her. Opas quarrelled with them and asked, “Why did you take a woman and not me instead?” The police left and said that he could call them if he needed help.
Oynapa and Wanthana were never found. Provincial police investigations revealed only that one witness had seen three men putting the women in a car on the day they disappeared. No progress was made in their inquiries.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The AHRC has documented 24 killings and disappearances allegedly committed by policemen of the Kalasin District Police Station in the past two years and earlier reported on the case of Kietisak, mentioned above: UA-136-2007. In none of these cases has any person been convicted.
In 2003 more than 2500 persons were killed in the first “war on drugs” operation launched by the government (see “Extrajudicial killings of alleged drug dealers in Thailand“, article 2, June 2003, vol. 2, no. 3; www.article2.org). Kalasin was the first province that the government declared to have “won” the war and be drug free. The above cases show that the so-called victory came with the price of many innocent lives.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the following authorities to request about the progress of the above cases, and also urge the government of Thailand to set up an independent investigation body to handle complaints against the police as suggested by the UN and other agencies. The government should also ratify the Convention against Torture and sign the International Convention for the Protection of all persons from Enforced Disappearance without further delay.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ________,
THAILAND: No effective investigations of alleged killings and disappearances by Kalasin District Police
Names of victims:
1. Pravit Sattawuth, 22
2. Krischadol Pancha (a.k.a Micky), 15
3. Oynapa Sukprasong, 34
4. Wanthana Thakpama (secretary of Oynapa)
Alleged perpetrator: Kalasin District Police
Date of Incident: 2 December 2004
Alleged perpetrators: Kalasin District Police personnel
Dates of Incident: 24 February, 20 July & 2 December 2004
Place of Incidents: Kalasin district, Kalasin Province, Thailand
I am writing to express my outrage that despite credible allegations that former and present personnel of the Kalasin District Police Station in northeastern Thailand are serial killers not one officer has ever been brought before a court of law. I am aware that in the past three years at very least 24 persons have been allegedly abducted and killed by these police officers. In this letter I bring to your attention three cases:
1. On 24 February 2004, three plain-clothed policemen came to Pravit Sattawuth’s house and took him back to Kalasin District Police Station, during the first month of the former government’s notorious “war on drugs” in which at least 2500 persons are believed to have been killed. The police had accused Pravit of being an addict and dealer, which his family denies. Pravit’s girlfriend went to the station to look for him, but he was not there. Around 6-7 pm of the same day, his body was found in the Kudnamkin public park. According to his relatives, the post-mortem examination showed that he was severely tortured before his death. A boy working in a Caltex gas station owned by a district policeman nicknamed “Montry” found and returned the victim’s wallet to his family, but there have been no further leads.
2. On 19 July 2004, Kalasin District Police arrested Krischadol Pancha and two other friends, Surasak Poonklang and Rames Teerathassiripoj, on an allegation of robbery in the Chumchon Market. Krischadol was reportedly arrested while he was paying fines in the police station; the others at their homes, without any arrest warrants being shown. The police allegedly beat them to extract confessions. The next day, Krischadol was granted him bail and his grandmother Thip Pancha went to pick him up at the police station but was told that the release order had not yet arrived, and was asked to wait at home. When he had not come by evening, Thip went back and this time a policeman told her that he had been released; he asked her to go back home and wait, although the police should not have released a minor from custody without his guardian being present. According to witnesses, Krischadol was last seen leaving the station with a policeman in plain clothes who had offered to drop him home.
3. Oynapa Sukprasong, a broker for the government lottery, allegedly paid the police to run an illegal gambling business. When she started getting demands from two groups of police, she refused to pay and shut down the illegal operation. She and her secretary Wanthana Thakpama were then allegedly held overnight by the police without charge, and another employee who had acted as an agent also was detained and questioned. On 2 December 2004, Oynapa and Wanthana disappeared in Buengwichai sub-district of Kalasin. Oynapa’s red van was found abandoned on 227th St, Huay Srithon. A witness reportedly told provincial police investigators that the two women had been taken to another vehicle by three men. No effective investigation of the abduction has followed. However, the same night of the disappearance some police who had received payments from Oynapa came to her house and asked her husband, Opas Sukprasong, if his wife had gone missing and if he would like help to find her. Opas became angry and they left.
All of these cases, among others, suggest a clear pattern of systematic abduction and killing by personnel of the Kalasin District Police Station. The case of Krischadol in particular is reminiscent of that of 17-year-old Kietisak Thitboonkrong, who was abducted and tortured to death within the same time, also after he had been bailed out and his relatives were told that he had left the station already. Therefore, it comes as a shock to me to find that although investigations into the killings and disappearances have been undertaken by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) under the Ministry of Justice, not one police officer has yet been charged and brought to trial. In fact, all of the alleged killers are still serving at their posts, and have in some cases been promoted.
The incidence of gross abuse at the Kalasin District Police Station speaks to the systemic violence, intimidation and corruption in the entire Royal Thai Police. I note that although the interim government has paid lip service to making reforms to policing in Thailand there is no evidence that it is really serious or that any progress at all will be made. In fact, since the military coup last year criminal investigation in Thailand has regressed, as the Internal Security Operations Command under the control of the army has been given special renewed authority over other investigating agencies, including the DSI.
The only possibility of meaningful change in policing in Thailand is that police officers responsible for torture, killings, abductions and other atrocities are brought to justice, along with their commanders. I demand that the killers of Pravit Sattawuth, Krischadol Pancha, Oynapa Sukprasong and Wanthana Thakpama be prosecuted, not only for the sake of them and their families but for the sake of prospects for meaningful reform to address the impunity enjoyed by the police in Thailand.
In addition, I urge the Government of Thailand to exhaust all means to locate all victims of disappearances, as well as to identify and prosecute the perpetrators and compensate the families.
In this regard, the Government of Thailand should set up an independent investigation body to handle complaints against the police as recommended by the UN Human Rights Committee in 2005, and many other agencies. I also call for it to ratify the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and join the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance without further delay.
I look forward to your prompt action.
Yours truly,
————-
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:
1. 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: moj@moj.go.th
2. 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
3. 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: moi@moi.go.th
4. Mr. Kavee Kitisataporn
Governor
Kalasin Provincial Office
Muang District, Kalasin Province
46000
THAILAND
Tel: +66 43 811 040
5. Pol. Gen. Seripisuth Themiyavet
Acting 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. 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
7. 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
8. Professor Philip Alston
Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions
Attn: Lydie Ventre
Room 3-016
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9155
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR EXECUTIONS)
9. Mr. Diego Garcia-Sayan
Chairperson
UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
C/o OHCHR-UNOG, 1211 Geneva 10,
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9006
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
