A reporter for a local Thai-language daily and TV station
was shot dead inside his own house on August 1 in Nakorn
Si Thammarat province.

Police identified the victim as Athiwat Chaiyanurat, a
reporter for"Matichon" newspaper and stringer for the
army-owned Channel 7.

In a statement, the Thai Journalists Association (TJA), a
SEAPA partner, condemned the killing of Athiwat as
"a reckless and barbaric act."

A police chief investigator of Division 8 of the Provincial
Police Command responsible for Nakorn Sri Thammarat said
the killing took place in the victim's house in Tambon
Chaiyamontri, Muang District around 8 PM (local time) while
he was in the kitchen cooking for his wife and son. Police
said two bullets hit the victim on the back. Two more shots
were fired on his head. Col. Ranapong Saikaew, deputy
commissioner of Division 8, said the killer must have
slipped earlier inside the house undetected.

According to Ranapong, the victim's wife and son had just
phoned him 10 minutes before they walked home to find his
dead body.

Preliminary investigation suggested the killing was linked to
Athiwat's work as a journalist. Earlier, he reported about the
alleged corruption within the local administration. He had
also reported a police manhunt for a hit man who had been
in the district prior to the local election. His report
about the assassin reportedly angered a senior civil servant
who allegedly provided protection for the hit man. The
reporter had received death threats before and exercised
caution whenever he was traveling.

"The fact that the killing took place inside the reporter's
house indicates that it is not only premeditated but also
masterminded by influential figures," said the TJA statement.

"It challenges authorities' responsibility in protecting and
keeping public peace and order," it added.

More important, the TJA said that the killing was obviously
"aimed at silencing the media and discouraging them from
reporting facts."

The TJA in its statement urged the National Police
Commissioner to take quick action in arresting and bringing
the killer to justice so that Athiwat's murder shall not be
taken as a precedent in threatening the media.

The journalists' group also urged the police to regularly
report the progress in the investigation to the public so
as to restore public confidence