The trial for the murder of indigenous rights activist Porlajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen has concluded, said the Cross-Cultural Foundation (CrCF). The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases will deliver a verdict on 28 September.

Friends and family members of missing activist in exile Wanchalearm Satsaksit celebrated his 41st birthday on 11 August.  No progress has been made in the investigation into his disappearance.

3 years after activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit went missing while living in exile in Cambodia, no progress has been made into the investigation of his disappearance, while activists in Cambodia and Thailand held public gatherings on Sunday (4 June), the anniversary of his disappearance.

Pinnapa Pruksapan, widow of murdered indigenous rights activist Porlajee Rakchongcharoen, has requested that the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) continue to protect her and her family, after the DSI said that they are not important witnesses in Porlajee’s murder trial and will no longer keep them under its protection.

The Constitutional Court has ruled that an Emergency Decree postponing implementation of several sections in the new Prevention of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act is not in line with the Constitution, declaring it invalid. This means that the act goes into effect in its entirety.

The trial of four Kaeng Krachan National Park officials charged with the murder of indigenous rights activist Porlajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen began on Monday (24 April), 9 years after he went missing. His family say their lives have been turned upside down by his disappearance.

As four park officials charged with pre-meditated murder for their alleged involvement in the abduction and death of indigenous right activist Porlajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen go on trial, civil society organizations have demanded that they be suspended to make sure the judicial process cannot be tampered with.

One leader in the movement against the forest reclamation policy of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), Den Khamlae, a leading land rights activist, mysteriously disappeared 7 years ago and was later declared dead. He was last seen entering a forest to collect mushrooms and bamboo shoots in Khok Yao community in Chaiyaphum Province, where the villagers face a land dispute.

On the 9th anniversary of the disappearance of indigenous rights activist Porlajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen, activists in Bangkok staged a protest to raise awareness about enforced disappearance and to call for reform of the justice system.

<p>The Cabinet has decided to postpone the enforcement of several sections in the new Prevention of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act requiring police officers to make audio and video recordings from the moment of arrest through to release, claiming the need for training and equipment.</p>

<p>The Royal Thai Police have issued a letter to the Ministry of Justice, asking them to delay enforcement of Anti-Torture Act. It claims the police are not ready in terms of training and equipment.</p>

<p>Sombath Somphone was abducted from the middle of Lao PDR&rsquo;s capital Vientiane in 2012. A decade later, the perpetrators have not been brought to justice, his fate is still unknown, and his friends still hope for some progress in the case.</p>