Pictures courtesy of Naewna

 

The Director-General of the Office of Investigation welcomed a United Nations human rights delegation on 27 November, as discussions focused on improving investigative practices in deaths occurring under official custody. The meeting centred on strengthening Thailand’s application of the Minnesota Protocol 2016 to support effective implementation of the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act 2022. Officials emphasised that the cooperation aims to enhance protections for public rights and freedoms.

 

The event took place at the Office of the Attorney General in Bangkok, where Director-General Watcharin Panurath and Bunchat Khiaotai, Secretary-General of the Forensic Institute, joined prosecutors from the Office of Investigation and the Institute of Forensic Studies. UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Dr Morris Tidball-Binz led the delegation from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The visiting team included international forensic experts: Professor Duarte Nuno Vieira of the University of Coimbra, Argentina’s forensic anthropologist Dr Luis Fondebrider, and Professor Stephen Cordner of Monash University.

 

The experts delivered briefings on investigating deaths under state custody in accordance with the Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death (2016). Their presentations covered forensic standards, legal frameworks, and operational guidance essential for determining whether a death may have resulted from unlawful actions. The training took place in Conference Room 902 on the ninth floor of the Ratchaburi Direkrit Building at the Office of the Attorney General.

 

According to the Office of the Attorney General, insights gained from the meeting will be applied to strengthen the effectiveness of law enforcement, particularly in cases involving torture, enforced disappearance and custodial death investigations. Prosecutorial procedures under the Criminal Procedure Code, including post-mortem examinations, are expected to benefit from improved forensic and investigative practices. Authorities reaffirmed their commitment to applying international standards to safeguard constitutional rights.

 

Naewna reported that the Office of the Attorney General plans to integrate the guidance received into updated protocols for prosecutors and forensic teams nationwide. Further collaboration with UN experts may follow to support capacity building and long-term reforms. Officials reiterated that the objective is to ensure consistent, lawful and rights-based investigative processes throughout Thailand.

 

 

Key Takeaways

 

• Thailand and UN experts met to strengthen investigations into deaths under official custody.

• Forensic specialists provided guidance based on the Minnesota Protocol 2016.

• The Office of the Attorney General will apply the findings to enhance legal enforcement and safeguard public rights.

 

 

 Adapted by Asean Now from Naewna 2025-11-28

 

They should ask the prisoners and such as the ones who are detained for section 112, drugsdealers etc... but they only will pretend everything is perfect in this country as it always has to look so... but in the meantime....