Wife of Dead Insurgent Suspect Alleges Torture, Shows Photos

Sumaiya Minka, left, with Future Forward Party MP Pannika Wanich on Sept. 4, 2019 at Parliament.
Sumaiya Minka, left, with Future Forward Party MP Pannika Wanich on Sept. 4, 2019 at Parliament.

BANGKOK – The wife of a suspected insurgent who died after falling unconscious while in military custody has revealed photos suggesting he might have been tortured.

Sumaiya Minka on Wednesday claimed her late husband, Abdulloh Esormusor, was tortured while detained for 12 hours in a military camp in Pattani province. She backed the allegations with photos allegedly taken in the ICU unit of a hospital soon after her late husband, Abdulloh Esormuso, arrived unconscious on July 22.

The photos show red marks on Abdulloh’s wrists, which may have been left from being tied by a rope. Also visible are marks on his fingers that could have been the result of an electric shock. One photo shows liquid oozing out of his ear.

Sumaiya presented the photos both to the Future Forward Party at Parliament, and to the local branch of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Advertisement

Future Forward Party spokesperson Pannika Wanich told reporters at a press conference today that there have been 54 mysterious deaths under military custody since 2014. Almost all the deceased have been Thai-Malay Muslims.

“Abdulloh wasn’t the first to emerge out of a military camp with severe injuries, crippled or dead,” Pannika said.

She said that documentation by the Pattani Human Rights Research Group found that 51 percent of the deceased were Thai-Malay Muslims aged between 29 and 38. 57 per cent were from Pattani province.

Future Forward Party then urged Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, the Defense Ministry, and the armed forces to clarify the circumstances that led to Abdulloh’s death.

Advertisement

Related stories:

Family of Pattani Man Who Died in Army Custody Seeks Justice

Suspected Insurgent in Coma After Army Detention