Thaksin Aide Link To Kidnap Of Somchai

[sriracha john]

Thaksin aide link to kidnap of Somchai

Person close to former PM phoned key policeman on night of abduction

Army chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin yesterday linked prominent Muslim lawyer Somchai Neelaphai-jit's disappearance to people close to ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The dramatic revelation sparked new hope that the missing lawyer's family might finally see justice.

"I have received information from investigators that some individuals close to former prime minister Thaksin were behind the disappearance of Somchai," Sonthi told reporters yesterday.

The junta chief, who led a coup to topple Thaksin six weeks ago, declined to give further details or identify any of the individuals allegedly involved.

Somchai's wife Angkhana Neelaphaijit said the information might be the same as what she had known for a long time. It indicated that a person from the Prime Minister's Office made several phone calls to one of five police allegedly involved in the abduction of her husband on March 12, 2004, she said.

Police Lt-Colonel Chatchai Liumsanguan, Police Lt-Col Sinchai Nimpunyakhamphong, Sergeant Chaiyaweng Phaduang, Corporal Randorn Sithikhet and Pol Major Ngern Thongsuk were only charged with illegal detention in connection with Somchai's disappearance.

Only Pol Major Ngern, of the Crime Suppression Bureau, was jailed - for three years - after a trial. Three of seven eyewitnesses who testified in court said they had seen Ngern forcibly push Somchai into a car.

Investigators have reportedly never found any evidence or information to link the five police with any other individuals believed to have close connections to Thaksin, Angkhana said.

"I don't know why officials have sat on the information for so long time and never brought it to the court to pin down any suspects," Angkhana said in a phone interview.

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) was instructed last year to carry on with the case to bring more wrongdoers to justice.

But the department had made little progress, until Sonthi instructed embattled DSI chief Pol Gen Sombat Amornwiwat to speed up the probe and report on its latest findings.

DSI investigators admitted they had found no solid evidence to make a clear case or take any other suspects into custody, said Angkhana, who met the team last week.

But Sonthi's hint might help steer inquiries in the right direction, she said, adding that the coup leader's move gave her hope.

DSI spokesman Col Piyawat Kingket said the department would contact Sonthi to obtain more information about the disappearance, because existing evidence provided no links to people close to Thaksin or leads to the possible arrest of any suspects, he said.

An informed source said an individual at Government House had several phone conversations with one of the five police officers, who was heading from Bangkok to the western province of Ratchaburi, from 8.30pm on the night Somchai was abducted.

The former prime minister Thaksin told Angkana in a private meeting last year that her husband was dead and that some government officials were involved. He later instructed the DSI to continue looking into the case.

Aran Pancharoen, a colleague of Somchai from the Muslim Lawyers Association, called for the authorities to overhaul the investigation team in order to make real progress.

Investigators had to be independent and free from possible interference by influential figures, otherwise they could be blocked from gathering the truth, Aran said.

Somchai was the former chairman of the Muslim Lawyers Association. He defended many Muslim suspects accused of violence in the restive South.

He went missing after publicly revealing that police had tortured his clients. The disclosure caused a huge loss of face for the police and was believed to be the key motive for his abduction.

The Nation

[skippybangkok]

well what a surprise

[Tony Clifton]

Is that good enough to them or will they try and find more to link this directly to Thaksin and prove his involvement.?

[cclub75]

The dramatic revelation sparked new hope that the missing lawyer's family might finally see justice.

Dramatic revelation ? 2 years and a half to "discover" the phone call ?

Impressive, even by thai standards.

It would be even more impressive if the guy was arrested. And forced to reveal the scheme, the why, the how, and the name of thoses who ordered the abduction. If, if, if....

[sriracha john]

Thaksin people behind Somchai case

There is evidence indicating that a person close to ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra might be behind the disappearance of the Muslim lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit, said Council for National Security chairman and army chief Sonthi Boonyaratkalin Tuesday morning. Gen Sonthi said CNS has already received all reports on the case but could not reveal them. The case has drawn international attention as one of the most flagrant examples of human rights abuses by state authorities under Thaksin. Five policemen were brought to trial for abducting Somchai, but only one was convicted of his kidnapping and sentenced to three years in jail. Prosecutors had insufficient proof to charge the police with murder as Somchai's body has never been found. Extra-judiciary slayings were one of the hallmarks of Thaksin's premiership. During his "war on drugs" between 2002 and 2003, more than 2,000 suspected drug-traffickers were killed without charges or trials.

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=113900

[Briggsy]

This somewhat vague and unsurprising allegation has received no attention on the BBC website. It rather sounds as if pressure is being applied to certain quarters in the police, justice ministry, Thaksin sympathisers etc. I am not expecting any high-level arrests soon.

This story seems to have been linked on one website to a story that Thaksin has flown to China. Is this the case?

[Spenthouse]

maybe toxin could also tell us where elvis is hiding

[sriracha john]

This somewhat vague and unsurprising allegation has received no attention on the BBC website. It rather sounds as if pressure is being applied to certain quarters in the police, justice ministry, Thaksin sympathisers etc. I am not expecting any high-level arrests soon.

This story seems to have been linked on one website to a story that Thaksin has flown to China. Is this the case?

Not according to:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?s=...st&p=965158

Apparently he's still "stuck" at his luxury digs in London.

[maxx]

and then the investigating stop there, The End.....same old same old, nothing ever get done.

[Tony Clifton]

As far as I know, no ongoing investigations have "stopped there" since Thaksin has been ousted, they're digging up 5 years worth of dirt in all directions, quite a puzzle. Give them time.

[Douggie Style]

Exactly, unless one of the rats rolls over...

[bulmercke]

The CNS definitely need something big against Thaksin to justify their actions and continued presence.

I'll stick my neck out and predict that they'll go after everyone, including Thaksin, involved in Somchai Neelapaijit's abduction and inevitable murder.

And the boys in brown in this case won't be able to protect and save their comrades as they have so obviously done up to now.

Let's not forget that Somchai is only one of thousands whose blood is now on Thaksin's hands.

[Meerkat]

Let's not forget that Somchai is only one of thousands whose blood is now on Thaksin's hands.

And with a press/public not allowed to offer a dissenting view, heck, we can clear up a myriad of unsolved crimes...

[bulmercke]

Let's not forget that Somchai is only one of thousands whose blood is now on Thaksin's hands.

And with a press/public not allowed to offer a dissenting view, heck, we can clear up a myriad of unsolved crimes...

We sure can.

[farangsay]

I read this today.

Front page - Bangkok Post.

Same page - DSI chief would be interested in the details.

(Which he supposedly had not yet received).

Tit-bits in the press every day , but nobody charged yet with anything.

Real or spin ?

[Jai Dee]

Angkhana Neelapaijit must be given immediate protection

Amnesty International is gravely concerned for the safety of human rights defender Angkhana Neelapaijit and her family, and calls on the Royal Thai Government to immediately provide them with adequate protection. Khun Angkhana is the wife of Somchai Neelaipaijit, a Muslim lawyer and human rights defender whose fate and whereabouts remain unknown since his enforced disappearance in March 2004. He had been defending Muslims in southern Thailand, several of whom had reportedly been tortured while in police custody.

The Thai press reported today that General Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, Chairman of the Council for National Security (CNS, comprised of some leaders of the 19 September 2006 coup, who have a leading role in the interim government) said that he was informed that a close aide of the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was allegedly involved in Somchai’s disappearance.

In light of the fact that Khun Angkhana and her family have received several death threats in the past whenever there have been any advances in Somchai’s case, Amnesty International is now again concerned for their safety. Since her husband’s enforced disappearance, Khun Angkhana has been active in helping victims of the violence in the Muslim-majority South and in other parts of the country obtain access to justice. Moreover, she has taken a lead role in calling on the government to resolve Khun Somchai’s case and bring those found responsible to account. Amnesty International’s fears for her and her family’s safety are heightened by the lack of an effective witness protection program in Thailand.

Five police officers were arrested and tried in relation to Somchai’s disappearance and in January 2006 one was found guilty of coercing Somchai into his car and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. He was released on bail and has reportedly returned to work.

The police investigation failed to uncover any information about what happened to Somchai after his disappearance on 12 March 2004. Subsequent investigation by the Justice Ministry’s Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has also failed to make any progress, in spite of the fact that after the January 2006 verdict, then Prime Minister Thaksin stated publicly that he knew Somchai was dead and that he expected further arrests and the results of the DSI investigation to be completed within a month. However to date the DSI investigation has not clarified the full facts of Somchai’s enforced disappearance.

Source: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL Public Statement

AI Index: ASA 39/016/2006 (Public)

News Service No: 282

1 November 2006

[Jai Dee]

Pol. Lt. Col.Thaksin's legal advisor warns media not to refer his client name in attorney Somchai's disappearance case

Ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's legal advisor Noppadol Pattama (นพดล ปัทมะ) has asked for the media not to refer his client’s name with the case of former Muslim Lawyer Association Chairman Somchai Neelapaijitra (สมชาย นีละไพจิตร) who have disappeared.

Mr. Noppadol told the media to be careful of reporting the news related to Mr. Somchai’s case, as the Council for National Security Chairman, Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratkalin (สนธิ บุญยรัตกลิน), has not mentioned the name of Pol. Lt. Col. Thaksin's close person who were involved in this issue.

Moreover, Mr. Noppadol insisted that Pol. Lt. Col. Thaksin is not involved with the disappearance of Mr. Somchai because the former premier does not know him at all.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 02 November 2006

[TokyoT]

Looks like ol’ JD wants to make it clear that the media is not to use Taxins name in association with the supposed disappearance.

Three times for affect JD?

[Jai Dee]

Looks like ol’ JD wants to make it clear that the media is not to use Taxins name in association with the supposed disappearance.

Three times for affect JD?

Whoops... sorry about that.

Duplicate posts deleted.

[Jai Dee]

DSI believes that the court will consider the witnesses' testimony on the disappearance of Mr. Somchai

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) believes that the court will consider the testimony of witnesses to the case on the disappearance of the president of the Muslim Lawyers Club, Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit (สมชาย นีละไพจิตร), while indicating that the investigation found 10 people involved in the case.

DSI spokesman Piyawat Kingket (ปิยะวัฒน์ กิ่งเกษ) said that the interrogation on the case is 70-80 percent finished and this afternoon, the investigating team will travel down to Huay Shin Si (ห้วยชินศรี) municipality in Ratchaburi (ราชบุรี) Province where Mr. Somchai’s body was believed to be destroyed .

He said that the area inspection at Huay Shin Si will take 2-3 days.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 02 November 2006

[sriracha john]

Moreover, Mr. Noppadol insisted that Pol. Lt. Col. Thaksin is not involved with the disappearance of Mr. Somchai because the former premier does not know him at all.

For the disgraced former PM's benefit...

This is his picture:

and here are 12,300 links available to learn more about him:

http://www.google.co.th/search?hl=en&q...sa=N&tab=iw

[sriracha john]

A possible break in the case...

'Human bones found' in Somchai case

Forensic expert Porntip Rojanasunan, searching for the remains of lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit in Ratchaburi province, said today she has found several bones "believed to be human" in the area detectives believe Somchai was killed and his body disposed of. Khunying Porntip said she would have to conduct a DNA test to find out whether the bones she found were those of Mr Somchai. Khunying Porntip and a Department of Special Investigation (DSI) team went to the province this afternoon after receiving what they described as crucial evidence in the case. She said the information made them believe Mr Somchai's body was set on fire at a garbage disposal pit in Muang district of Ratchaburi. She said she expected that it would take the team a week to completely search the suspected killing ground, which covered the area of one rai.

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=113953

[bulmercke]

Pol. Lt. Col.Thaksin's legal advisor warns media not to refer his client name in attorney Somchai's disappearance case

Ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's legal advisor Noppadol Pattama (นพดล ปัทมะ) has asked for the media not to refer his client’s name with the case of former Muslim Lawyer Association Chairman Somchai Neelapaijitra (สมชาย นีละไพจิตร) who have disappeared.

Mr. Noppadol told the media to be careful of reporting the news related to Mr. Somchai’s case, as the Council for National Security Chairman, Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratkalin (สนธิ บุญยรัตกลิน), has not mentioned the name of Pol. Lt. Col. Thaksin's close person who were involved in this issue.

Moreover, Mr. Noppadol insisted that Pol. Lt. Col. Thaksin is not involved with the disappearance of Mr. Somchai because the former premier does not know him at all.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 02 November 2006

Know him......and know of him are quite different.

[Plus]

They once found an oil drum in which Somchai's body has been disposed, but it turned out to be a hoax. I don't hold my breath over this latest discovery.

What makes recent developments significant is that Sonthi himself announced the link between abductors and the government house. Telephone records were always there, everyone who had access to them knew where the calls were made, but no one dared to say that publicly.

Sonthi apparently gave it a go. DSI chief has also been recently transferred. Maybe we'll see some progress, but I think they should assign a new team, the old investigators are too tainted.

[sriracha john]

It's small consolation, but good to see that someone with Khunying Porntip's credibility is on the case. Another good thing is the amount of international media attention that the case surprisingly still draws, even stating more definitively that it IS Somachai's remains.... although, certainly, it's best to wait and see:

Forensic expert Porntip Rojanasunan (left) inspects a dump site where a Thai Muslim human rights lawyer's body was burnt, in Ratchaburi province, 100 km (62 miles) west of Bangkok, November 2, 2006. Somchai Neelaphaichit, who vanished two years ago while defending suspects from the rebellious south, was killed and his body burned at a dump site in Ratchaburi province, then dumped in a river, a Justice Ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

REUTERS

[sriracha john]

Missing Muslim rights' lawyer case is getting results, says DSI spokesman

BANGKOK - Thailand's Department of the Special Investigation (DSI) announced significant progress in the case of prominent Muslim human rights lawyer, disappeared and presumed dead, while a well-know forensic expert would collect more evidence at the site where it is believed the body was destroyed.

DSI spokesman Col. Piyawat Kingket told the press conference that the DSI's investigation of circumstantial evidence related to the case of Muslim human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit has made great strides compared to previous blocked attempts to access more information.

The spokesman's statement was disclosed Thursday to meet the deadline set by Justice Minister Charnchai Likitjitta last week for the DSI to submit a progress report on the Muslim lawyer case within a week.

The DSI spokesman said cellular telephone call records of one suspect showed that it was possible that Mr. Somchai's body was destroyed at a garbage dump in the provincial seat in Ratchaburi.

Phone calls were made several times at the time of Mr. Somchai's kidnapping in Bangkok on March 12, 2004, Col. Piyawat said.

Contact was stopped at 1am (0100 hours) and started again at 4am (0400 hours). It is believed that the suspects were at the garbage dump in Ratchaburi at the time.

According to the investigation, the burnt body was put in a container, which was cut into pieces and thrown into Mae Klong River. The investigators need to search for more evidence but it is believed that about 10 government officials, local officials in Ratchaburi, and civilians were involved in the presumed murder.

If the evidence is sufficient to implicate all of them in the crime, all will be arrested.

The DSI officials and the acting director of the Central Institute of Forensic Science (CIFS) Porntip Rojanasunan inspected the site on Thursday to collect more evidence.

No additional arrest warrants have been issued, but more warrants will be issued against additional suspects if officials find more evidence to support the state's case.

As the body of Mr. Somchai has not been found yet, whether he is dead or not is considered a controversy by some. However, the court heard that the lawyer was abducted, and witnesses testified to that effect, and the lawyer has disappeared for two years. It can be initially presumed that he is dead, the officials said.

Mr. Somchai disappeared in Bangkok in March 2004 while defending a group of Muslims charged with plotting attacks in the insurgency-plagued south. He went missing after publicly accusing Thailand's police of torturing his clients while in custody.

- MCOT

[sriracha john]

Police to check whether remains are lawyer's

A forensics team is investigating bones found in a waste dump in Ratchaburi where the body of Muslim lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit was believed to have been taken and incinerated.

"At the moment we have bones that we believe belong to a human being," Khunying Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand, acting forensic science institution head, said. "If the bones are human, they will be sent for DNA testing to see if there is a match with Somchai," Pornthip said.

Somchai, a prominent lawyer, went missing on March 12, 2004 after he disclosed police mistreatment of his clients who were accused of being involved in a raid on a military camp in Narathiwat in which four soldiers were killed and more than 300 weapons stolen.

The bones were found in a dump in Huaychinnasee municipality of Ratchaburi province.

- The Nation

===============================================

and then as a counter-balance....

Somchai case creaks

Discovery of possible human bones may not be turning point

Only three days after junta chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin hinted that close aides of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra were involved in abducting prominent Muslim lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit, agencies involved in the investigation rushed to show they had found important clues, as if they were close to cracking the case.

Somchai went missing on March 12, 2004 after disclosing that police had tortured his clients, who were accused of involvement in a raid on a military camp in Narathiwat in which more than 300 weapons of war were stolen and four soldiers were killed.

Over the past two years and eight months, authorities have brought five police officers to trial. In January, Pol Major Ngern Thongsuk was jailed for three years for illegal detention, while the four other officers were freed due to a lack of evidence.

Somchai's wife Angkana Neelaphaijit has tirelessly pursued the case, insisting she has faith that justice will be done and the real wrongdoers punished.

Thaksin instructed the Justice Ministry's Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to handle the case and conduct a further investigation to determine whether the missing lawyer was still alive and if not, who killed him. Thaksin hinted he had knowledge that Somchai was dead and that officials were involved in the abduction and murder. The DSI, however, made no progress in the investigation and sat on the case, seemingly hoping it would disappear quietly.

To be fair, the DSI's investigation team might have feared Thaksin's political power. With the change brought about by the coup, Sonthi sparked new hope that the case might be solved with his comments that aides to Thaksin might know something about Somchai's disappearance.

With surprising speed, the DSI team, which had said consistently it had no new evidence to bring any suspects to justice, rushed to western Ratchaburi province yesterday to search for clues. It was the first time they had visited the site. As if it had all happened under their noses, officials yesterday found "something like human bones" in a waste dumping area. Forensic expert Khunying Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand rushed to examine the remains.

The DSI has a story, but no actor to cast in the role of villain. Officials leaked the story to journalists yesterday that Thaksin's aides ordered the abduction and killing of Somchai because he had defended Muslim troublemakers, including suspected members of the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist organisation. The action, known in police slang as "oum", was part of the Thaksin administration's move to contain violence in the restive South. Only a few high-ranking police officers close to Thaksin could have been involved in such an "oum" operation.

The officials said the DSI traced a phone conversation on the day of Somchai's disappearance between someone at Government House and one of the five police officers who would later stand trial. The party on the other end of the line was headed to Ratchaburi. The phone contact ended in the early hours of the next day as the alleged abduction team arrived at the waste dumping area and allegedly managed to burn Somchai's body before removing the ashes and dumping them into the Meklong River.

What if Pornthip fails to identify the reported human remains? The DSI believes the phone conversation records are clear enough to convince the court to convict Thaksin's aides. Despite a lack of Somchai's remains to prove he is indeed dead, the investigation would rely on circumstantial evidence to prove the suspects killed Somchai, and the court would be asked to hand down a harsh punishment. The officials said the DSI would issue arrest warrants for the aides soon.

However, Thai courts very rarely allow for such a prosecution. In the trial of Maj Ngern, the court rejected the admission of phone records on the grounds that they proved nothing in connection with the alleged abduction. The phone records might indicate that the users were in a certain place but could never prove that the person to whom the phone was registered was using the phone while abducting the alleged victim. It was up to an eyewitness to convince the court that officer Ngern pushed Somchai into a car.

Previous cases suggest that the courts will only take phone records into consideration if they are submitted in conjunction with other "scientific forensic evidence", such as a suspect's fingerprint on Somchai's car (or Somchai's on the suspect's car). Other such evidence could include DNA tests proving the suspects were at crime scene.

There is nothing wrong with the attempt to use this new prosecution technique in the Somchai case, but the norms of criminal prosecution suggest the court will give the benefit of the doubt to the defendants. In other words, in the absence of solid proof, the court will likely free the suspects.

If the DSI has only the phone records, it will not be able to develop its case fully. If this is the case, all the activity this week in the wake of Sonthi's hints will add up to little more than some political mind-games aimed at convincing the public that the junta has something new with which to accuse Thaksin - but which will not bring justice for Somchai.

- The Nation

[sriracha john]

the tide seems to have shifted...

Arrest warrants to be issued for alleged murderers of Somchai

Police will soon issue arrest warrants for a group of people who allegedly involved in killing Somchai Neelapaichit, a Thai Muslim lawyer who went missing two years ago, a spokesman of Attorney General Office said Friday.

Attaporn Yaisawang said that his office has received evidences from Department of Special Investigation that proved that Somchai who went missing has already died.

Therefore, the charges against suspects will be murders, instead of holding without permission as earlier charged.

The Nation

[sriracha john]

'Thaksin Link in Human Rights Lawyer's Disappearance'

BANGKOK - With an eye on justice, Angkana Neelaphaijit is prepared to wait even longer for the truth about the disappearance -- and possible murder -- of her husband, Somchai, a prominent human rights lawyer from Thailand's minority Muslim community.

Over the weekend, the 50-year-old Angkana sent a letter to the country's Department of Special Investigations (DSI) not to issue warrants to arrest suspects for the alleged murder of Somchai Neelaphaijit, abducted by police officers from a busy street in Bangkok on a night in March 2004. His body was never found.

‘'I, as an injured party, have some concerns regarding the issuing of arrest warrants without sufficient evidence to bring a murder case against the perpetrators,'' she wrote. ‘'The lack of witness protection has resulted in eye-witnesses being threatened, and not being willing to come and give testimony due to a lack of confidence in their safety.''

Somchai's disappearance came soon after he publicly accused the police of torturing his clients, Muslims from the country's southern provinces, who were accused of being involved in a raid by unknown militants on a military camp in January 2004. The five suspects were subsequently acquitted.

Her determination to secure proper accountability is being backed by the local and international human rights community, since the Somchai case has come to symbolise two features that defined the over five-year administration of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed from power in a Sept. 19 coup.

For some, the Somchai case was emblematic of the culture of impunity that had worsened after Thaksin, a former police officer himself, was elected to power. A judgement in January this year conveyed the ease with which the five police officers got away on minor chargers, such as coercion, theft and ‘'injuring'' Somchai, who was 53 years at the time. Only one officer was convicted, while the other four were acquitted due to insufficient evidence.

At the same time, the ‘'disappearance'' of Somchai was viewed as one in a growing list of human rights violations -- ranging from an orgy of killings, abductions, assaults and intimidation - committed by agents of the state against those the Thaksin administration determined as ‘'enemies'' or threats to the country.

‘'This is a very important case for those in the society fighting for justice,'' Angkhana said in an IPS interview. ‘'The DSI can find the evidence if it wants to.''

‘'It is a very critical case because the police was involved,'' adds Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, coordinator of the Working group on Justice for Peace, a local human rights lobby. ‘'Because the culture of impunity worsened during the Thaksin years.''

This push by human rights groups is aimed to dismantle the culture of impunity ‘'enjoyed by those in power,'' she explained to IPS. ‘'It has to end. This is a good case and we have to secure proper justice.''

The renewed interest in the case -- which was seen as all but lost while Thaksin was in power -- is due to a fillip from an unexpected quarter. Last week, General Sonthi Boonyarataklin, head of the junta that threw out Thaksin, revealed that some officials close to the deposed premier were involved in the disappearance of the Muslim lawyer.

‘'I have received information from investigators that some individuals close to the former prime minister Thaksin were behind the disappearance of Somchai,'' Sonthi was quoted as having told the local media.

And if this revelation by Thailand's army chief is a hint at what the junta has in mind -- to turn the heat on Thaksin for his brutal record -- then, as human rights groups confirm, the list of violations during the 2001-2006 period is long and bloody. It is an exposure, furthermore, that could give the coup leaders a series of concrete crimes to go after Thaksin as they struggle to find violations he committed in other areas, such as corruption and nepotism.

The first to feel the heat after Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thai-- TRT) party swept to power in January 2001 were community activists and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working on social, environmental and human rights issues. By the time the TRT was forced out by the mid-September coup, 21 human rights defenders had been killed for standing in the way of powerful, often local, figures.

In December 2002, riot police were accused by human rights groups of using ‘'excessive force'' to quash a peaceful protest by communities in the southern province of Hat Yai opposed to the construction of a Thai-Malaysian gas pipeline protest. ‘'I will look unfavourably upon any protest organised by these NGOs,'' Thaksin said soon after , as he defended the police action.

The following year came to be marked as the bloodiest, when the government launched its 2003 ‘war on drugs' to crush the narcotics networks in the country. Over an estimated 2,200 people were killed in the first three months -- many in mafia-style shootings -- prompting critics to say that Thaksin had given the police ‘'a license to kill'' civilians.

And in 2004, state brutality visited the increasingly violent south, particularly in October 2004, when 78 Muslim boys and men died in military custody due to suffocation. They had been arrested for being among the thousands who had staged a protest outside the police station in the town of Tak Bai. None of the military officers who were found guilty following an inquiry were taken to court.

At the same time, Thaksin launched verbal salvos at those who criticised his tough responses. In the firing line of the enraged premier were local human rights groups, officials from the United Nations and even the U.S. State Department, following its exposure of Thailand's ‘'worsening'' rights record in an annual report in 2004.

‘'Nobody can lead this government by the nose. We are a U.N. member, not a U.N. underling,'' Thaksin snipped at Hina Jilani, a U.N. human rights envoy, after she stated there was ‘'a climate of fear'' in Thailand following a nine-day visit.

The human rights cases that kept piling up during the Thaksin years has led one leading lawyer to describe it as a period when the police ‘'were given the green light to kill, to go beyond the law.''

‘'The criminal justice system worsened during the Thaksin years,'' added Somchai Homlaor in an IPS interview. ‘'He helped his friends in the system. It became a police state.''

- Inter Press Service News Agency (IPS)

[sriracha john]

Forensic lab tests underway on Somchai case bone fragments

BANGKOK - Thai forensic officials said Tuesday that laboratory tests have begun on bone fragments discovered at a Ratchaburi garbage dump--possible new clues to help solve the case of a missing and believed-to-have-been-murdered human rights lawyer.

Acting director of the Central Institute of Forensic Science (CIFS) Porntip Rojanasunan said preliminary results separting human bone samples from animal remains could be available Thursday.

Forensic scientists at Thailand's Central Institute of Forensic Science are conducting laboratory tests on more than 500 bone fragments found at a garbage dump site in Ratchaburi, according to Khunying Porntip.

Tests on bone fragments are parts of the officials attempt to find solid evidence to confirm the death of Somchai Neelaphaijit, abducted in March 2004 while defending a group of Muslims charged with plotting attacks in the insurgency-plagued south.

He went missing after publicly accusing Thailand's police of torturing his clients while in custody.

Investigators believed that his body was disposed at the garbage dump in Ratchaburi where forensic teams conducted forensic work, searching for human bones.

The well-known forensic expert said veterinarians will inspect bone fragments to distinguish human bones from animal bones on Thursday (November 9). Chemical solution will be used in the tests for accurate results, which will be released within two weeks.

Khunying Porntip said forensic teams will conduct DNA tests on bones which are in good condition and she will send pictures of bone pieces to specialists at the University of Tennessee in the United States to analyse the pictures of bones.

- MCOT