The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed of the death of a man in a military camp in southern Thailand on 21 March 2008. Five other arrestees were transferred to another camp after this incident. The AHRC calls for a thorough police investigation and prosecution of those responsible.

CASE DETAILS:

According to the information received, at 4:30am on 19 March 2008, police from Rueso District Police Station and military personnel belonging to the 39th Military Task Force Unit stationed in Southern Thailand went to the BaHoe village. They surrounded the village and started to search each house where they arrested Mr. Rayu Korkor. After interrogating him, the authorities claimed that he was involved in making bombs in Kortor village. Then, they went to Kortor village, RueSor sub-district, RueSor district, Narathiwat province and arrested five other persons including a father and two sons of the same family.

They failed to show a warrant and recover any materials related to making bombs in the village. However, they took all six persons to the military camp of the 39th Task Force Unit stationed at RueSor district in Narathiwat province by military vehicle. The relatives of the arrested went to see them in the camp but they were not allowed to meet and talk with them.

On March 21, when their relatives again went to see the arrestees, the two sons told them that their father, Mr. Yapa Koseng died in custody.

The charges against the arrestees have not been given to their relatives and no investigation into the death of Mr. Yapa Koseng has been conducted.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

This incident demonstrates the total impunity with which Thai security forces are operating under the Emergency Decree in the south. The decree was introduced by the former prime minister mid-2005 as part of a heavy-handed approach to the violence in that part of the country, and it grants the army and police even greater powers than under martial law. They cannot be prosecuted for any actions taken under it (see AHRC-PL-056-2006 and read final report).

This case also shows how the Emergency Decree results in serious human rights abuses. State officers are therefore encouraged to keep detainees in secret locations, where they can do whatever they like without fear of being prosecuted. (Please refer to: UA-237-2007, UA-144-2007, AS-024-2007, AS-255-2006, UA-111-2007, UA-034-2007, UA-348-2006)

Even though other cases of custodial death have been reported, neither alleged perpetrators have been prosecuted nor remedies to the victim's relatives provided. (see UA-237-2007 and UA-136-2007).

In October 2007, a senior bureaucrat admitted that around 30 per cent of criminal cases in Thailand's courts were probably fabrications (see AS-261-2006). For instance, in November there was a case against 58 men, who were accused of provoking military force during a protest in Narathiwat province--in which some 85 persons (78 in army custody) died. The case was dropped after the state admitted that there was no evidence against them (see AHRC-OL-060-2006).

For full details on the decree and violence in the south visit: http://thailand.ahrchk.net/edecree

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the following authorities below and ask them to investigate the alleged custodial death of Mr. Yapa Koseng after the illegal arrest and detention.

Please be informed that the AHRC has written a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions calling for an intervention in this case.

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