A case filed by the family of Chaiyaphum Pasae, a Lahu ethnic activist who was killed by the military, has been accepted for consideration by the Supreme Court.

A commemoration poster with collated photos of Chaiyaphum.

The Supreme Court accepted the case on 16 January 2023. The Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF), which has been assisting the relatives, stated that the Court found there were some important problems to examine after the Appeal Court dismissed the case last year.

CrCF Director Pornpen Khongkachonkiet expressed gratitude to the Court for providing the family a chance to clear the doubts.

“Although the Army will insist that the bullet that was shot by a soldier under its command was fired in self-defence, the relatives and society still have doubts about the facts that occurred.

“So a ruling of the Supreme Court would help in resolving the facts, which is important for compensation to the deceased’s relatives and society,” said Pornpen.

Chaiyaphum was an activist who worked to promote indigenous rights in northern Thailand. He was shot and killed by military personnel at Ban Rin Luang checkpoint in Chiang Dao District, Chiang Mai, on 17 March 2017. He was 17 years old.

The officers claimed that they found 2,800 drug pills in Chaiyaphum’s car and had to shoot him because he resisted the search and tried to throw a grenade at them. However, an eyewitness told Thai PBS that Chaiyaphum was dragged out of the car, beaten and shot. 

The Chiang Mai Provincial Court ruled after an inquest in June 2018 that he was killed by an army bullet, but did not rule whether his death was a result of extrajudicial killing or whether the soldier’s action was lawful. The court also did not request the CCTV footage of the incident as evidence, despite a request from the family’s lawyer.  

The CCTV footage of the incident was never released and remains missing.

The confusion about the CCTV footage has prompted public scrutiny over the military’s claim. Doubt turned into outrage when Lt Gen Wichak Siribansop, then commander of the 3rd Army Area in charge of the region, said that he had seen the CCTV footage and found that the soldiers were trying to protect themselves from harm.

“It was a normal decision of the soldier. If it were me there, I might shoot in automatic mode,” said Wichak.

The lawsuit was originally filed in May 2019 by Napoi Pasae, Chaiyaphum’s mother, who asked to be compensated for damages caused by the Army. After the Civil Court dismissed the case, Napoi filed an appeal.

The Appeal Court ruled on 26 January 2022 to dismiss the appeal on the grounds that the military shot Chaiyaphum in self-defence and therefore the Army was not liable for damages to his family.