Department of Corrections (DC)

10 Apr 2017
The family of an inmate who reportedly died of heatstroke after being disciplined by prison staff has demanded an investigation, believing that he was beaten to death by prison staff. On 7 April 2017, Kobkiat Kasivivat, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Corrections (DC), revealed that Suriya Supharak, 47, imprisoned for drug-related offences, died in Takua Pa District Prison in southern Phang Nga Province on 1 April 2017.
15 Mar 2017
Sexual release is a basic human need but it has always been subject to social norms, law and morality. In Thai prisons, regulations place even the internal needs of inmates under the state’s vigorous control.But the state can never fully control the force of human desire. Sexual activities happen in the everyday reality of prison life, though consensual sexual activities are largely limited to partners of the same sex. Sexual activities in prisons occur both among lovers and as pragmatic commerce.  
6 Mar 2017
Thailand’s ongoing failure to enact comprehensive prison reforms has created conditions for human rights violations to be rife in its prison system, FIDH and UCL said in a new report published today. The report, titled “Behind the walls – A look at prison conditions in Thailand after the coup,” documents how conditions in prisons examined by FIDH and UCL are in breach of Thailand’s obligations under international instruments to which it is a state party.
25 Jan 2017
Human rights lawyers have filed a charge against Thailand’s Corrections Department after prison officers barred a lawyer from meeting his lèse majesté client.       On 16 January 2016, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) filed a charge against the Corrections Department, the Director of Chiang Rai Central Prison and a prison staff member.
14 Dec 2016
Prisons in Thailand still fail to recognise the basic rights of female prisoners, depriving women of essential health services and goods from sanitary pads to bras. Overburdened prisons due to Thailand’s harsh drug laws aggravate the current situation. This report reveals the devastating condition of female prisons in Thailand, places where women detainees live without dignity.
10 Aug 2016
Contradicting the Minister of Justice, the Thai National Human Rights Commission has concluded that shackling political dissidents is a violation of human rights. What Tingsamitr, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), on Tuesday, 9 August 2016, concluded that the use of shackles by the Department of Corrections (DC) on detained political activists from the New Democracy Movement (NDM) violates human rights and dignity, the Manager Online reported.
17 Jun 2016
After five years in prison, Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, a long-time labour activist turned lèse-majesté suspect, has urged the authorities to improve prison conditions, saying prisoners’ rights deteriorated greatly after the 2014 coup d’état. Suwanna Tanlek, a pro-democracy activist, on Thursday morning, 16 June 2016, submitted a petition to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The petition was written by Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, former editor of the now-defunct Voice of Taksin magazine, charged with offences under Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the lèse majesté law.
13 May 2016
Leading women's rights advocacy groups in Thailand are urging the authorities to stop forcing pelvic examinations on female detainees. 16 women’s rights organisations, including the Friends of Women Foundation, the Women's Movement in Thai Political Reform (WeMove), the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies of Mahidol University and the Foundation for SOGI Rights and Justice, on Friday, 13 May 2016, submitted a joint statement to Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the junta leader and Prime Minister, and Gen Paiboon Khumchaya, the Minister of Justice.
4 May 2016
Three female political dissidents, two of whom were forced to undertake pelvic examinations, recall their ordeal in women’s prisons while human rights lawyers have urged the Thai authorities not to violate the rights of detainees.
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