BANGKOK – On the 20th anniversary of the enforced disappearance of prominent Thai human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit, human rights organisations in Thailand and overseas issued statements commemorating and demanding justice.
In Paris, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its Thai member organizations, Union for Civil Liberty (UCL) and Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), call on the Thai authorities to re-open the investigation into Mr. Somchai’s disappearance, renew their efforts to determine his fate or whereabouts, and deliver justice to him and his family.
FIDH, UCL, and TLHR also urge the government to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED) without further delay and without reservations, and ensure national legislation conforms to its provisions.
Thailand signed the ICPPED in January 2012, but it has not yet ratified the treaty. In December 2023, Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-nukara pledged the ratification of the ICPPED by June 2024.
In Geneva, UN experts issue a statement from Geneva calling for truth and justice for Somchai after twenty years have passed. (read full speech)
“Thai authorities must comply with the country’s international obligations, investigate this crime and hold perpetrators of Somchai’s enforced disappearance criminally responsible,” the experts said.
They mentioned about Somchai’s wife, Ms. Angkhana Neelapaijit, and their five children were left in anguish after his enforced disappearance and the lack of knowledge about his fate and whereabouts.
At that time Ms. Angkhana was a nurse, with no previous experience or training in law or judicial procedures.
“Women are often at the forefront of the struggle against enforced disappearance: they form organisations and associations to find their loved ones and overcome unspeakable obstacles, breaking down stereotypes and eliminating gender hierarchies,” the experts said.
“Ms. Neelapaijit became a torchbearer for the right to truth and she remains a source of inspiration,” they said.
In Bangkok, Angkhana Neelapaijit delivered a speech at a panel at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand on Monday night.
“In the past 20 years, I have tried very hard to achieve justice and even though the government has changed several times in the past 20 years, the perpetrators have not. With 20 years of experience, I learned that it’s almost impossible for victims to reach out for justice, truth, and reparation. As we mark the 20th anniversary of SN’s disappearance, I implore the Thai government to address the case with honesty and transparency, revealing the truth about Somchai’s disappearance and that of all the disappeared persons. Perpetrators must be held accountable, and impunity must come to an end,” she stated.
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Background of Somchai Neelapaijit (FIDH Brief)
Somchai Neelapaijit, a prominent lawyer who defended the rights of members of Muslim communities in Thailand’s restive provinces of Songkhla, Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat, was abducted and disappeared on 12 March 2004. According to eyewitnesses, a group of individuals forced him into a car on Bangkok’s Ramkhamhaeng Road. Despite strong circumstantial evidence of his death, Mr. Somchai’s body was never found.
In connection with Mr. Somchai’s disappearance, the Bangkok Criminal Court acquitted four police officers of the charges of coercion and gang-robbery and convicted Police Major Ngern Thongsuk of coercion on January 12, 2006.
On January 13, 2006, then-Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said “circumstantial evidence” confirmed that Mr. Somchai was “dead” and that “more than four government officials were involved.” Mr. Thaksin returned to Thailand in August 2023 after 15 years of self-imposed exile.
On March 11, 2011, the Court of Appeals upheld the acquittal of the four police officers accused of coercion and gang-robbery and overturned the conviction of Police Major Ngern Thongsuk.
On May 21, 2014, the Supreme Court rejected the admissibility of key phone evidence against the five acquitted police officers who had been originally accused of being involved in Mr. Somchai’s disappearance.
On October 5, 2016, the Ministry of Justice’s Department of Special Investigation (DSI) declared Mr. Somchai’s case closed, saying no culprits had been found.
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