Karen Villager Jailed 1.5 Years for Illegal Logging

March 20, 2015 4:42 pm

Military and Royal Forest Department officers confiscate planks of wood which, according to claims by villagers in Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary, Buriram Province in northeastern Thailand, were to be used to build their houses. [Prachatai English]

(Prachatai English)

BANGKOK – A Court of Appeals in the nothern province of Mae Hong Son sentenced a Karen villager accused of illegal logging in northern Thailand to 1.5 years in prison.

The court in Mae Sariang District confirmed the verdict of the Court of First Instance to convict Anan Phadeangsanga, 33, a Pakayaw Karen tribesman, of illegal logging

According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), Anan is the first of 16 Pakayaw Karen tribesmen from Tung Pa Ka Community in Mae Sariang District, all of whom have been accused of illegal logging, to be sentenced to prison.

The court has scheduled the verdict reading of 16 other defendants on 22 April 2015.

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