With the statute of the limitations on the Tak Bai massacre expiring today (25 October), a lawyer representing victims’ families said that their legal team is considering pressing negligence charges against the police for not working the case.

During Amnesty International Thailand’s press conference on the upcoming session of the UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) yesterday (24 October), Useng Dolah, a lawyer from the Muslim Attorney Centre, said that the 14 officials charged in two cases relating to the 25 October 2004 Tak Bai massacre must now be brought to court before midnight or the charges will be dismissed.

Useng noted that the statute of limitations is treated very strictly in criminal cases. Unlike in civil cases, no argument can be made against it and no extension can be made. He said that the final court date is scheduled for Monday (28 October), during which the court will review what the police have done to bring the defendants to court. The case is then likely to be struck from the case list since the statute of limitations would have expired.

Arrest warrants have been issued for 7 former military, police, and civil officials involved in the Tak Bai massacre after they failed to appear in court. The police have not been able to take them into custody, and are unable to locate 7 other former security personnel indicted by the Office of the Attorney General for the same incident. Some of the defendants have reportedly fled to other countries, including to the UK, Japan, and Laos. Unless they can be brought to court by the end of the day, the case against them will be dismissed.

Former Pheu Thai MP Gen Pisarn Wattanawongkiri, formerly the Fourth Army Region commander, faces a particularly strong public backlash since he took a leave of absence from parliament between 26 August – 30 October, claiming to be seeking medical treatment overseas. He has also recently resigned as MP.

Useng said that allowing the statute of limitations on the Tak Bai massacre to expire without bringing the defendants to court could affect the situation in the Deep South, since it shows that the government is not serious about solving these issues and that there is a culture of impunity for state officials.

Meanwhile, the team of lawyers which represented the families in the Tak Bai case is considering what action to take next. Useng said that they are planning to press charges against the police at Nong Chik Police Station and Tak Bai Police Station for not working the case and requesting indictments until now, and are trying to determine whether the police failure to compile a case file would count as negligence.