8 replies to this topic

[B.I.G.]

According to the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), it looks like at least one case of the infamous war on drugs and police abuse in Kalasin Province will finally be coming to trial.

The case of Kiettisak Thitboonkrong was sent to the Criminal Court in Bangkok in September 2009. Six Thai police officers have been accused of premeditated murder and of concealing Kiettisak's corpse to hide the cause of death.The trial will be open on 19 October 2009 in the Criminal Court, Bangkok.

The background:

"The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) contends that police officers in Kalasin province in North-eastern Thailand have engaged in systematic torture, abductions and killings committed by over the last five years during the 'war on drugs'.

There appear to be at least 28 cases in in which the police have been implicated in the deaths of alleged drug suspects. According to AHRC, the Thai Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has so far decided to investigate just two cases out of the 28.

According to the AHRC, some victims were arrested and released by police, only to be found dead hours later. Other people were allegedly held by the police for ransom and then murdered when the family could not pay ransom.

http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2009/3229/

[Sexpat]

I made a concerted effort to find some references to the start of this trial tomorrow but the Thai press seems to be avoiding it. They went crazy this week reporting the murder and dismemberment of one five-year old by some nobody but they seem to have no interest in covering a case involving dozens of people allegedly kidnapped, tortured and killed by the police.

[DOLLY]

I thought some of you might be interested to read some of the horrifying details of the Kiettisak Thitboonkrong case, a 16 year old boy who lived with his grandmother, Sa, very near the local police station in Kalasin. It's a story that's as far from the picture book "Land of Smiles" as anyone could imagine:

"On 16th July 2004, when Kiettisak didn't come home, a neighbor told hs grandmother Sa that he had been arrested for motorcycle theft. The next day, the police took her to watch Kietisak being interrogated at the public prosecutor's office. That was the last time she saw Kietisak alive.

The next day, the police called her to say that his bail had been posted by a municipal official. She went to wait at the police station for her grandson's release, but at around 5 p.m. the police told her to go home and that they would contact her when he was free to go.

Roughly an hour later, Kietisak called her and told her in a trembling voice: "They didn't tell the truth to you Grandma. They are going to take me away and kill me. Hurry come and help me, I'm on the second floor." After that the line went dead. At the police station, Sa was told by a high ranking police officer that Kietisak had already been released. She could hear her grandson crying out from above, but the police refused to allow her up to the second floor.

A few days later, on July 26, a police officer came to tell Sa that Kietisak's body had been found some 30 kilometres away. Witnesses who had seen his body being recovered said that the boy's feet were not dirty, despite the fact that the surrounding area was muddy due to the monsoon weather.

Sa took the body to the Central Institute of Forensic Science in Bangkok, who told her that Kietisak had been tortured to death. His body appeared to have been dragged along the ground by the neck and by handcuffs, causing deep cuts on his wrists. His body was covered with wounds and his testicles had been crushed.

On 29th July, the police phoned the witness whose phone Kietisak had borrowed to call his grandmother. They told her that the phone was police property and that she was to tell that to anyone who asked her about it. When she replied, "I'll say whatever I saw," she was told "Go ahead. If you talk, you'll hang like that kid." http://www.chiangmainews.com/ecmn/viewfa.php?id=2121

According to the Asian Human Rights Commission, there are at least 28 other similar death cases in Kalasin which appear to have occurred to young people last seen in police custody. To date, only two of those cases have been investigated for prosecution and not a single policeman has been disciplined or spent a single day in jail for any of these alleged murders.

[NYCGuy]

Thanks to Dolly for posting a more detailed version of this horrible affair. I have to admit that when I read stories like this I start to have serious second thoughts about retiring in Thailand when I close my business. I wonder how long-term expats deal with the issue.

[Hedda]

I wonder how long-term expats deal with the issue.

My experience is that most gay expats find themselves trying to ignore the ugly side of life here, concentrating on the more carnal pursuits which brough us here in the first place. In some respects, the guys who think from the waist down are able to maintain their illusions about the Land of Smiles than those who take time to try and see what makes this place tick.

The problem is that familiarity can breed as much contempt as sympathy or understanding, especially when you are staring someone in the face who may be up to no good. Since most expats who are curious are also quick to learn that there's very little that we can do to influence the tide of human affairs here, it's far better to keep a low profile and avoid the water - and cops- as much as possible.

With regard to the instant case of the young man allegedly tortured and murdered by sadistic police, it's appalling how the Thai press appears to be ignoring a case that would have front-page headlines in most western countries. The claim that there's a group of Kalasin police on active duty who have systematically engaged over more than five years in the kidnap, torture and murder of at least 28 young Thais is a story that deserves the attention, not indifference, of the entire nation, from top to bottom.

[B.I.G.]

If anyone has been wondering abut the status of the trial of the Kalasin police officers charged with the systematic brutal torture and extrajudicial murder of alleged drug suspects, this was the status reported six months ago by the Asian Human Rights Commission:

Testimony dates:

Witnesses of prosecutor: 2-5 and 23-26 March 2010
4-7 and 18-21May 2010
6-9 July 2010

Witnesses of joint-litigant: 20-23 July 2010
7-10 September 2010

Witnesses of defendants: 21-22 September 2010

And another day after the new appointment date.

The hearing will be conducted daily from 9.00am to 4.30pm.

Venue: Criminal Court, Rachadaphisek Road, Jatujak district, Bangkok, Thailand."

http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-ap...RC-UAU-009-2010

[DOLLY]

It's been seven years since the tortured body of 16 year old Kiettisak Thitboonkrong was found. Here's the latest information on the trial of the Kalasin police who are accused of the serial torture and murder of so many young Thais :

"The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the case of Kiettisak Thitboonkrong that on 7 June 2011 at 9 am at the Criminal Court in Bangkok, the witness hearings of the defendant will continue in the case of Mr. Kiettisak Thitboonkrong, who was one of the 28 victims of the Kalasin Killings.

This is the first case in which the DSI has charged police for the murders that characterised the notorious 'war on drugs' and its aftermath in Kalasin. Close observation would offer valuable support to the victims' relatives and the case witnesses. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urges all concerned persons to attend the court as observers, and calls on other interested persons to follow the case closely."

http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-ap...RC-UAU-029-2011

[Hedda]

This case of Kiettisak Thitboonkrong remains unresolved, not to mention all the other cases of alleged extra judicial murders by Kalasin police which have never been brought to trial.

Two days ago, Khun Pikul Phromchan, the aunt of the dead teenager allegedly executed by police in 2004, told delegates participating in proceedings by certain NGO's and human rights activists at the UN, that "police in the northeastern province of Kalasin killed her nephew, Mr. Kiettisak Thitboonkrong in order to hide the pernicious nature of the police officers and the weak judicial process in her country."

The six police officers who were charged with premeditated murder and with concealing Mr. Kiettisak’s corpse to hide the cause of death have been intermittently on trial since 2009 and the court case is still ongoing with no apparent verdict date set. None of the other 27 cases of alleged extra judicial murder by Kalasin police has ever been prosecuted.

http://www.prachatai3.info/english/node/2818

[DanT]

A bit of very unpleasant history from Thaksin's war on drugs:

"Chairat Mapranit, the governor of Kalasin province, declared Kalasin as the first “drug-free” province in Thailand in 2003. State officials in every part of the province demonstrated their cooperation. During the “War on Drugs,” even the justice system trampled on human dignity; if this was made public, it would be said to impugn the court. Villagers whose rights were violated simply had to withstand the pain and suffering. Those who used the most violence in Kalasin province were those with the power to enforce the law: the police. More than 300 people were killed or disappeared."

http://thaipoliticalprisoners.wordpress.com/