<p>The Thai military have defended their decision to file legal complaints against human rights advocates in the restive Deep South, saying that they have to defend the honour of the country, while the embattled rights activists refuse to be cowed.</p>
By Kornkritch Somjittranukit |
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<div>Human Rights Watch has condemned the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) for filing a complaint against three human rights defenders in the Deep South for exposing torture by the military of Muslim Malay minority members.
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By Human Rights Watch (HRW) |
<p>The Thai military should immediately withdraw its criminal complaints against three human rights defenders for reporting alleged torture by government security forces in southern <a href="http://hrw.pr-optout.com/Tracking.aspx?Data=HHL%3d8-48%3c4-%3eLCE593719%26SDG%3c90%3a.&RE=MC&RI=4432086&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=101231&Action=Follow+Link">Thailand</a>, Human Rights Watch said today.<br /></p>
By Thaweeporn Kummetha |
<div><em>A human rights activist from Thailand’s Deep South speaks about her motivation for co-founding a human rights organization, after her own experience of a family member being harassed. Since the start of 2016, she has been repeatedly harassed by the military due to a report, co-written by her, revealing allegations of torture by the state. </em></div>
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By Front Line Defenders |
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<div id=":16t" tabindex="-1">24 February 2016</div>
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<p align="CENTER"><strong>Harassment</strong><strong> of human rights defender </strong><strong>Anchana Heemmina</strong></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">On 19 February 2016, a group of ten men claiming to be border police officers came to the house of human rights defender Ms <strong>Anchana Heemmina</strong> in the Songkhla province of southern Thailand and questioned and photographed the human rights defender's mother without presenting a warrant.</p>
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<p dir="ltr">Men claiming to be border police officers have visited the home of a Deep South activist who took part in compiling a recent report on the torture of Malay Muslims in the region. </p>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://tlhr2014.wordpress.com/2016/02/20/south_threaten/">Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR)</a> reported that at about 5 pm on Friday, 19 February 2016, a group of ten men in green uniforms visited the home of Anchana Heemmina, a local activist in the Duay Jai Group, in Songkhla Province.</p>
<div>Allegations of torture committed by the Thai authorities against the Muslim Malay minority in Thailand’s restive Deep South doubled after the 2014 coup, a report says.</div>
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<div>The report, released on Friday, showed at least 18 cases of alleged torture and ill-treatment since 22 May 2014, when Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha staged the coup d’état. In 2015 alone, there were 15 recorded cases, whereas a total of 17 were recorded in 2014.
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