With the statute of limitations expiring on 25 October, the Muslim Students Confederation of Thailand (MUSTFETH) have filed a petition with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR) calling on the UN to monitor the Thai authorities’ handling of the Tak Bai massacre trial.

Students standing in front of the UN headquarters in Bangkok after filing their petition to the UNOHCHR on Friday (18 October)

The 25 October 2004 Tak Bai Massacre resulted in the death of 85 people. While attempting to disperse a protest in front of Tak Bai Police Station, held in response to the detention of six members of a village security team accused of providing arms to insurgents, with tear gas and water cannons, police shot and killed seven protesters and detained over 1300. Detainees were stripped to the waist and had their hands tied behind their backs. Some were beaten with gunstocks. They were then stacked on top of each other in trucks and transported to Fort Ingkhayutthaborihan, a military base in Pattani, 150 kilometres from the original location of the protest. 78 more people died from suffocation or organ failure during the 5-hour drive.

Seven former military, police, and civil officials are now facing trial after a lawsuit was filed against them by 48 people who lost family members in the massacre for murder by torture or acts of cruelty, coercion, unlawful detention, and malfeasance. The lawsuit was accepted by the Narathiwat Provincial Court on 22 August.

The officials have so far failed to appear in court, and the police have not been able to arrest them. The Narathiwat Provincial Court said that they must be brought to court by midnight on 25 October, when the statute of limitations will expire, or the case will be closed.

The students called on the UN to monitor and investigate the Thai authorities’ handling of the trial to ensure transparency and prevent a similar incident from happening again, as well as to ensure that the perpetrators will be held accountable to prevent the continuation of a culture of impunity in Thailand.

They also called on the UN and the international community to support the judicial process and mechanism for restoring justice in order to build public confidence, support the creation of a space for free expression, and protect the right to free speech.