Activists calling for a probe into the Rajabhakti Park scandals have submitted complaints to the UN and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) while another well-known anti-junta activist said that he will sue authorities for violating basic rights.   

Sirawit Serithiwat (aka. Ja New), a well-known anti-junta student activist, and other activists from New Democracy Movement, on Wednesday afternoon, 23 December 2015, submitted a complaint to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), accusing the authorities of violating human rights.

The activist said that on 7 December 2015 the authorities violated their rights guaranteed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) of which Thailand is a signatory by detaining them ‘unlawfully’ after disconnecting their train carriage en route to Rajabhakti Park.

After the train was halted, the authorities then arrested 36 activists and took them to Phutthamonthon Park in Nakhon Pathom Province for interrogation before releasing them at night on 7 December.

Sirawit said that he is also currently consulting his lawyers in order to file lawsuits in the Administrative Court against Maj Gen Thammanoon Withee, Col Burin Thongprapai, and the local police chief and head of Ban Pong District of Ratchaburi Province under Article 157 of Criminal Code (malfeasance in office) with similar allegations.

Yesterday, Rangsiman Rome, Chanoknan Ruamsap, and Chonticha Jaeng-rew, activists from NDM, also met officials from the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (UNHCHR) at the UN Southeast Asian headquarters in Bangkok to discuss and submit a report about human rights violations against people who expressed opinions over the Rajabhakti Park corruption allegations.

The group pointed to the arrests and detentions of Thanet Anantawong and Thanakorn S., who are accused of offences under Article 116, the sedition law, for sharing an infographic about the park scandal.

Moreover, the authorities last week issued summonses for 11 of the 36 activists detained on 7 December who refused to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) promising to steer clear of political activities, to report to the police, the NDM added.