Paramilitary officers arbitrarily detained a Muslim Malay youth activist after he witnessed and recorded a house search in the restive Deep South. The paramilitary checked his phone and social media before releasing him.
On 22 December, paramilitary officers detained Fison Daleng, a Muslim Malay activist from the youth group PerMas, at Bo Thong Village, Ban Rae Subdistrict, Than To District, Yala Province at around 9.30 am.
Earlier that day, Fison had witnessed and taken photos to record possible human rights violations when the authorities searched a civilian house in his village. The authorities detained him in a paramilitary camp in Bannang Sata district, Yala before releasing him at 12.30 pm.
At the camp, the paramilitary forced Fison to surrender his mobile phone. The officers deleted all the media taken that morning and checked his call logs, Line and Facebook accounts. He was released without charges. Fison reported no ill-treatment or torture during the detention.
Fison is a former Bangkok coordinator of PerMas, a leading Muslim Malay youth activist group based in the Deep South. PerMas promotes the right to self-determination of Muslim Malay villagers in Thailand’s three southernmost provinces.
Hafis Yakok, president of PerMas, told Prachatai that last night the authorities arrested two villagers in security-related cases. This morning, they took the suspects back to their house to search for evidence. Fison went there to record possible human rights violations and ill-treatment by the authorities.
The Muslim Malay predominant region of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat has been governed by special security laws for more than 10 years. The laws allow authorities to detain suspects without charge for up to 30 days. The region is plagued with violence and human rights violations.
(left) Fison Daleng (Photo from PerMas Facebook page)
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