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Dear friends,
We wish to share
with you the following invitation from Working Group on Justice of Peace
(WGJP) and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) to attend an
"Art Exhibition on The Disappeared and Their Families" to mark the 6th
anniversary disappearance of prominent Thai human rights lawyer Somchai
Neelapaijit.
Asian Human Rights Commission
Hong Kong
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-FAT-008-2010
March
2, 2010
An article from Working Group on Justice of
Peace (WGJP) and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) forwarded
by the Asian Human Rights Commission
THAILAND: Invitation to "Art Exhibition on the Disappeared and
Their Families" to mark the 6th anniversary disappearance of Somchai
Neelapaijit
On behalf of the Working Group on
Justice for Peace (WGJP) and the International Commission of Jurists
(ICJ), we would like to invite you to attend an “Art Exhibition on The
Disappeared and Their Families” to mark the 6th anniversary
disappearance of prominent Thai human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit.
The one-day exhibition commencing at 09:30 a.m. will be
held on 12 March 2010 at the Chula Nareumit House in Chulalongkorn
University. A draft programme is attached for your information.
Ms. Angkhana Neelapaijit, wife of Somchai Neelapaijit and
Chairperson of the WGJP, will launch a summary report highlighting the
continued pursuit for truth and justice in relation to her husband’s
enforced disappearance.
On the occasion of the 6th anniversary
of Somchai Neelapaijit’s enforced disappearance, the Art Exhibition
marking the event will also underscore the heinous nature of
disappearances in Thailand, as well as the broader problem of impunity
in relation to serious human rights violations.
We sincerely
hope that you will be able to join us, and would appreciate if you could
confirm your attendance by Tuesday 9 March to WGJP, by tel: 02 975
9975; by fax: 02 975 9975; or by email:
อีเมลนี้จะถูกป้องกันจากสแปมบอท แต่คุณต้องเปิดการใช้งานจาวาสคริปเพื่ออ่านมันได้
Yours
sincerely,
Angkhana Neelapaijit, Chairperson, Working Group on
Justice for Peace
Roger Normand, Asia-Pacific Director,
International Commission of Jurists
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CONCEPT
NOTE
6TH ANNIVERSARY DISAPPEARANCE OF SOMCHAI NEELAPAIJIT
12
March 2010
Chula Nareumit House, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok
Theme
A short event on 12 March 2010 to commemorate the 6th
anniversary of the enforced disappearance of prominent Thai human rights
lawyer, Somchai Neelapaijit and to highlight the failure of Thai
justice system in providing truth and reparation to the victims of the
case, as well as to call for protection from any future enforced
disappearance in Thailand.
Background
Somchai
Neelapaijit has been missing since 12 March 2004, when he was last seen
in Bangkok being forced into a car with a group of men. At the time of
his disappearance, he was Chairman of the Muslim Lawyers Association and
Vice-Chairman of the Human Rights Committee of the Law Society of
Thailand, and was representing five Muslims accused of terrorism-related
activities in Thailand’s
southern border provinces.
Although
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva announced the Government’s intention
to ensure swift and meaningful progress in investigations and to bring
to justice the perpetrators of Mr. Neelapaijit’s enforced disappearance,
no substantial progress has been made in the case, which was accepted
as a special case by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) since
July 2005. Somchai Neelapaijit’s fate remains unknown and no one has
been held accountable in final judgment for the crime of his enforced
disappearance. Meanwhile, key witnesses to the case and their families
have been subjected to intimidation and threats, and continue to worry
on a daily about their safety.
On 12 January 2006, the Criminal
Court convicted a senior police officer of coercion and assault – but
not of the enforced disappearance itself – and was sentenced to three
years imprisonment despite evidence presented at trial indicating that a
more serious crime has been committed. Pol. Maj. Ngern Thongsuk of the
Crime Suppression Division was released on bail pending his appeal. It
was subsequently reported in the Bangkok Post on 19 September 2008 that
Pol. Maj. Ngern Thongsuk
had gone missing in a flood. Following such
reports, Angkhana Neelapaijit, wife of Somchai, requested the police to
investigate the whereabouts of the officer’s body, which was never
found. This has led to beliefs that Pol. Maj. Ngern Thongsuk has fled
the country after having been released on bail pending appeal of the
Criminal Court decision.
In 2009, Angkhana Neelapaijit petitioned
the Civil Court to declare her husband disappeared so that she could
take control of his assets. The Civil Court took up the petition and
declared Somchai Neelapaijit disappeared on 18 May 2009 as he had been
missing for five years.
In the four and a half years that DSI has
accepted investigative responsibility of this case, there have only
been attempts to unearth evidence from the Maeklong River in Ratchaburi
province. To date, four 200-litre-drums that are believed to have been
used for destroying the body of Somchai have been excavated. Some human
bone fragments have also been uncovered, but they were found to not
match the DNA of
Somchai Neelapaijit after forensic testing.
More
recently, one of the key witnesses – Mr. Abdulah Abukaree – in the
criminal case relating to Somchai Neelapaijit’s enforced disappearance,
disappeared on 11 December 2009 whilst under the DSI witness protection
scheme. The presumption that a witness to an enforced disappearance has
himself been forcibly disappeared has further shaken people’s trust and
confidence in the efficacy of the justice system to hold perpetrators of
crimes liable will be gravely eroded.
The event commemorating
the 6th anniversary of Somchai Neelapaijit’s enforced disappearance will
(i) highlight the failed pursuit of truth and justice, and the
weaknesses of witness protection in this particular case; (ii)
underscore the serious nature of enforced disappearances in Thailand;
and (iii) represent public and highprofile efforts at seeking justice
for an emblematic case in the fight against impunity in Thailand.
Materials
A summary report by the Working Group on Justice for Peace
on the continued pursuit of truth and justice relating to Somchai
Neelapaijit’s enforced disappearance will be launched, and the English
and Thai versions of the International Commission of Jurists’ trial
observation report on the criminal trial and investigation of the case
will be made available.
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