(2 April) The former judge who had been removed from controversial case of missing Saudi businessman has denounced the court's allegation that he had inappropriately performed his duty.

Mr. Somsak Ponsong was abruptly suspended from his duty in January as he was penning the ruling on the abduction and murder case of Mohammad Al-Ruwaili, who went missing in Bangkok 24 years ago. 

Another judge replaced Mr. Somsak and delivered the verdict on 31 March, proclaiming 5 police officers not guilty of kidnapping, torturing, and murdering Mr. Al-Ruwaili as charged by the prosecutors. Saudi officials and Mr. Al-Ruwaili's relatives have expressed their outrage at the sudden judge change which, they said, led them to believe they had not received a fair verdict by the Thai court.

Court official explained that Mr. Somsak was removed after he was found guilty of committing a breach in ethics during his service as a judge in Saraburi province, that his removal was completely unrelated to the Al-Ruwaili case.

But Mr. Somsak insisted his innocence, telling reporters today that he is greatly surprised by the court committee's decision to suspend his duty. According to Mr. Somsak, the investigation was launched 5 years ago and meant to determine whether he had inappropriately approved bail release to defendants.

However, Mr. Somsak said, the suspects in 17 out of 20 bail releases he had approved did not attempt to flee; one did flee but was later brought back to the court by the authorities; while another case was ended when the defendant was shot dead during his bail release.

He insisted that he had not exercised poor judgment in the approval of these bail releases. "Some defendants were bailed in the cases of possessing more than 100 amphetamines, but I have studied the Supreme Court cases, and I discovered that a defendant with as much as 36,000 amphetamines was also granted bail," Mr. Somsak said.

The judge added that the neither the prosecutors, nor the defendants, nor the bail officials ever filed complaint about his bail decision. 

"Please note that all the things I've been accused of happened 5 years ago," Mr. Somsak told reporters, "There is no evidence of my ethical breach, but a committee has just been set up recently. It makes me wonder whether it was meant to coincide with the period of verdict writing [in Al-Ruwaili case]"

He vowed to fight the allegation put forth by the Criminal Court committee, stating that he would present the evidence proving his innocence on 2 April. 

"I have to admit, I feel really sad to have my duty suspended, even though I have performed my duty in the best way I can," Mr. Somsak said. 

Mr. Thongchai Senamontri, Director of the Criminal Court, has previously admitted that the defendants in Al-Ruwaili case have filed their request to have Mr. Somsak removed from the case, claiming that they had received unfair treatment from Mr. Somsak, though the request was eventually rejected.

The alleged unfair treatment was Mr. Somsak's insistence that a former police officer who is currently residing in United Arab Emirates could testify against the defendants. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Nantasak Poonsuk, Director of the Department of Special Litigation, said had been informed by family of Mr. Al-Ruwaili that they intended to appeal the court verdict.

He said it is too early to indicate which points in the verdict the prosecutors would contest in the Appeals Court.  

Minister of Foreign Affairs Surapong Tovichakchaikul said he would like to expressed his sadness that the ruling did not correspond to Al-Ruwaili family's wishes, and he regretted that any chance to amend the frozen relationship between Saudi Arabia and Thailand had been missed. 

"I hope the diplomatic relationship between the two nations won't be downgraded any further," Mr. Surapong said.

He added, "I understand our legal system, but we cannot prevent them from having their own opinion or hope in the court verdict. Mr. Al-Ruwaili's family has been following this case for 24 years, so they are feeling uncomfortable, but w will have to explain to the international community so they understand our legal procedure, in order to avoid any misunderstanding".

"If they don't believe us, it's their rights," the Minister concluded.  

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(2 April) The Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army has suggested that an unspecified "special way" might be needed to end the current political turmoil.

Gen. Prayuth Chan-Ocha made the comment after meeting with Gen. Thanasak Patimaprakorn, Chief of the Defence Force, at the 1st Infantry Division in Bangkok this morning.

"Every Thai must return to be an order-loving Thai, not a do-whatever-I-want Thai," Gen. Prayuth said, offering advice to anti- and pro-government protesters alike, "Today we have to be a nation of  Thais who have order, respect the laws, and sacrifice our personal interests for the sake of the national interests, to ensure that the Nation, the Religion, and the Monarchy will be safe".

He continued, "No one will win if they keep fighting each other like this. We will all be in trouble. That is why we must find the solution, either by legal or special ways". 

Gen. Prayuth did not elaborate on his comments, and his words are bound to be interpreted by pro-government critics as a tacit threat to launch a military coup against the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra; Gen. Prayuth has previously refused to rule out a possibility of a coup.

When asked about anti-government protesters' call for the army to "disobey" Ms. Yingluck and turn against her, Gen. Prayuth went silent for a while before replying that he could not provide an answer because it was a difficult question.

"Suppose you work in a company, and you decide to protest against the company owner," Gen. Prayuth asked the reporter instead, "Can you do that? If you don't agree with your supervisor, do you dare fire that person? If not, then you must do your duty. Whatever duty has been entrusted to you, you must do accordingly".

"I will not overtly criticise anyone, because I have to keep my status, so that I can work in every job," Gen. Prayuth insisted.

He similarly refused to say whether he agrees with the anti-government protesters' demand that Ms. Yingluck be replaced by an appointed Prime Minister, saying that he cannot side with either opinion.

When a reporter asked about the upcoming mass rally by the pro-government Redshirts on 5 April, Gen. Prayuth said things would be well if the demonstrators respect the laws, and he stressed that there is no plan to declare the martial laws to contain the protests.

The army chief also urged the anti-government protesters to refrain from any violent retaliation after their motorised convoy came under gunfire attack on the expressway yesterday. 

"If the protesters spot the perpetrator, they should immediately inform the police," Gen. Prayuth, "Don't use any force in retaliation". 

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(1 April) Relatives of the Saudi businessman who went missing 24 years ago have been left angered by the verdict that acquits all defendants who were accused of abducting and murdering him.

Mr. Mohammad Al-Ruwaili was last seen in February 1990 in Bangkok. His disappearance came after 3 Saudi diplomats to Thailand were assassinated, amid the scandal involving the theft of numerous jewels from the palace of the Faisal Royal Family in Saudi Arabia by a Thai janitor. 

Five police officers –  Lt.Gen. Somkid Boonthanom, Pol.Col. Sorarak Jusanit, Pol.Col. Praphas Piyamongkol, Pol.Lt.Col. Suradej Udomdee, and Pol.Sgt.Maj. Prasong Thongrung – have been accused of engineering the abduction and subsequent murder of Mr. Al-Ruwaili. 

Prosecutors alleged that the group of officers attempted to extract from Mr. Al-Ruwaili any information regarding the assassination of the 3 diplomats or the jewelry theft. 

Following long years of delays, the court resurrected the case in 2010 after public prosecutors, led by the Division of Special Investigation (DSI), claims to have secured new evidence related to Mr. Al-Ruwaili's disappearance.

Relatives of Mr. Al-Ruwaili were flown to Thailand as witnesses for the trial, and in December 2013 the last hearing was conducted. Judgment day was scheduled to be 31 March. 

Mr. Matrouk Al-Ruwaili and Mr. Ateeq Al-Ruwaili previously told Khaosod in exclusive interviews that they were not concerned by whether the verdict would convict or acquit the defendants, as they simply wanted to see the case of Mr. Al-Ruwaili reaching some sort of formal court verdict and legal conclusion. 

Well-placed sources in the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Thailand likewise expressed their belief that the relationship between the two kingdoms, which has been downgraded by the Saudis in retaliation for series of unsolved murders of high-profile Saudis in Thailand, could finally be revived after the ruling on the case was reached.

One official went as far as saying that the Saudis expected "zero chance" of a guilty verdict, instead hoped for an eventual concrete conclusion of the decades-long case.

Then – a few weeks before the scheduled ruling – the Saudis were informed that a judge had been abruptly changed during the judgment writing session. 

In an interview with Khaosod and Matichon, Mr. Abdulelah Alsheaiby, Charge d'Affaires of Saudi Arabia to Thailand, expressed his grave worry over the reports of the judge change and voiced his fears that the plaintiffs would not receive a fair trial.  

When contacted by Matichon reporters 2 days before the ruling, some officials in Ministry of Justice said they were not aware of the change of judge, while others refused to comment on the report, stating that reporters should "wait and see for themselves" on 31 March.

On last Friday, Khaosod and Matichon reporters again met with Matrouk Al-Ruwaili and Ateeq Al-Ruwaili, who had just flown in from Saudi Arabia to hear the verdict on 31 March. When asked to comment on the report of possible judge change, the two expressed shock and said had not been informed of the matter by the Saudi Embassy. 

A Saudi official said no one had told the pair as the report was merely unconfirmed rumour. Matrouk and Ateeq told our correspondent they would not comment on the news as it had not confirmed by any Thai officials, but nevertheless said a judge change would be highly inappropriate, as the judge has been involved in the procedure for years.

Finally, on the judgment, the Saudis' fears were confirmed when a new judge indeed appeared at the tribunal and delivered the verdict, dismissing the case against the five defendants on the grounds of insufficient evidence. 

In a press conference held several hours after the verdict was read, Mr. Thongchai Senamontri, Director of the Criminal Court, told reporters that the judge change was legal and in accordance with proper procedure, and should not cause of suspicion of any kind. 

Waving a cut-out report from Matichon newspaper in one hand, Mr. Thongchai explained that Mr. Somsak Konesuk was initially installed as the judge for Mr. Al-Ruwaili case three years ago and was scheduled to deliver his judgment on the case yesterday.

However, Mr. Thongchai said, Judge Somsak had also been under an investigation by a court committee for an "inappropriate" bail release he had allegedly approved without due procedure as he sat as a judge in Saraburi province years ago (Mr. Thongchai said he could not remember the exact year). 

According to Mr. Thongchai, the investigation was launched "a long time ago", but they only reached a conclusion on 6 January 2014 – few weeks after the last court hearing in Al-Ruwaili case – that Mr. Somsak is guilty of the alleged breach of court procedure, and was promptly suspended from all his present court duties, including the Al-Ruwaili case.

A new judge, Mr. Rungsak Chongkrasan, was subsequently installed and write the verdict instead of Mr. Somsak, Mr. Thongchai said, stressing that Mr. Somsak's removal was not related to Al-Ruwaili case, as the former judge was also involved in many other cases. 

Asked why the court had not informed or explained to the Saudi officials and their lawyers about the judge change, Mr. Thongchai replied that it was not the court's duty to do so. 

The Director of the Criminal Court also claimed he was aware of the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Thailand hinged on the Al-Ruwaili verdict, but insisted that the court could not uphold international interests over the law.

"Thailand is a free country," Mr. Thongchai told reporters, "We must stick to the legal procedure of Thailand".

He added, "I certainly hope the Charge d'Affaires of Saudi Arabia will understand my explanation. I have read from the interview in Matichon that he is only concerned by the news of judge change. Now that I have explained how the change is perfectly within legal frameworks and unrelated to Al-Ruwaili case, I hope the Charge d'Affaires will accept the reasons".

He doesn't.

In the press conference at Intercontinental Hotel on the same afternoon, Mr. Alsheaiby said via his interpreter that he was not surprised by the verdict, as he already anticipated a negative outcome ever since he first heard about the judge change several days ago. 

"We feel very uncomfortable," Mr. Alsheaiby apparently told reporters, "We fear that the judgment did not reflect the reality".  

The diplomat said he will report the matter to Riyadh and wait for any possible retaliatory measures the Saudi government might adopt against Thailand. 

He added, "Let me stress again, we are deeply disappointed by the ruling. We suspect that the case has been interfered. The defendants have already tried to change the judge many times in the past. I ask the media to decide what their intention really is".

Mr. Thongchai admitted that the defendants, namely Lt.Gen Somkid, requested to have Mr. Somsak removed from the case in November last year, citing their opinion that they were not receiving fair trial under Mr. Somsak. According to Mr. Thongchai, the court committee eventually dismissed the defendants' request and let Mr. Somsak stay on the case – until he was later removed in January.

According to a source, the defendants filed the request after Mr. Somsak insisted that a potential witness in the case, who is now residing in Saudi Arabia, could testify via teleconference against the defendants. 

The witnes, Pol.Lt.Col. Suwitchai Kaewphalue, also provided the DSI with a ring said to belong to Mr. Al-Ruwaili. The evidence was later dismissed as inadequate by the new judge in the verdict on 31 March.

Whatever the real reasons for Mr. Somsak's removal might be, Saudi officials and Al-Ruwaili's relatives vowed to appeal the ruling, and to pursue the case until "justice" is done. 

Mr. Matrouk Al-Ruwaili said the case involving his relative's disappearance is merely one of many cases committed against Saudis in Thailand that went unresolved. "When will this end?" Mr. Matrouk said, "The people should uphold the interests of the country over the protection of these [perpetrators]"

Meanwhile, Mr. Ateeq Al-Ruwaili expressed his disbelief that the judge has been changed so suddenly, so shortly before the verdict, and in such questionable manner.

"Our case is not a traffic violation," Mr. Ateeq said bitterly, "It's serious. It's about a missing man's life. Can't they at least wait after the case is completed before they remove the judge?"

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(1 April) Unidentified assailants opened fire on anti-government demonstrators' motorised convoy in Nonthaburi province today, killing one protester.

Three other protesters were wounded by the gunfire, which erupted as supporters of People's Committee for Absolute Democracy With the King As Head of State (PCAD) were marching on Ngam Wong Wan Expressway at around 14.30.

The protesters were returning from a Government Complex on Chaeng Wattana Road, where hundreds of PCAD supporters remain encamped, to their site near Government House in Bangkok.

Protesters showed reporters bullet holes on a bus in their convoy. 

The name of the deceased protester has not been released. It is understood that a total of four people were shot, 2 men and 2 women.

PCAD protest sites and marches have frequently come under gunfire and grenade attacks since their "Occupy Bangkok" campaign began in January, claiming many lives. The police have been heavily criticised for failing to arrest or prosecute the perpetrators in these attacks.

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