Supreme Court acquits five police officers of charges in missing human rights lawyer case

[spidermike007]

Another case to show the world how Thai justice really works!!! Disgusting.

There's no such thing as Thai justice. The system is completely broken. The poor get locked up. The rich do as they like. One can get away with murder here, even if caught red handed, if you have enough cash or influence. All Thai people should hang their heads in shame. Especially the little one who promised reform, and delivered protection of the elite, the guilty with cash, and the status quo.

[oneday]

"...Thailand also needs a law on forced disappearance to protect the rights of the families of those victims, she said..."

Yeah, but you see, this will take away the police's biggest tool in quelling troublemakers so we can't have laws like this...can we?

[off road pat]

sad day for the widow

It's been a sad more than 10 years for the widow.....!!! it's disgusting !! there so much to say...but I don't have the time or the courage.....

[grumpyoldman]

Last he was seen was being abducted by these officers. What do they say happened to him(?), was released unharmed and just walked away and left his family and friends?

Horrible............

[off road pat]

Almost funny if it were not so sad. When it comes to justice, this

must be one of the looniest countries in the world... I admire the

pluck of his wife, I am surprised the police have not killed her

as well.....

Yes, RESPECT to his wife.......

Regards,

[off road pat]

Almost funny if it were not so sad. When it comes to justice, this

must be one of the looniest countries in the world... I admire the

pluck of his wife, I am surprised the police have not killed her

as well.....

Yes, RESPECT to his wife.......

Regards,

[JOC]

>.Records of telephone calls among the officers, allegedly calling each other while following Somchai - were not reliable enough to convince the court that those officials were involved in Somchai's disappearance. Eyewitnesses failed to confirm exactly how Somchai was forced by police officers to get in a car and many witnesses gave contradicting testimony to the court about the identity of people at the scene, the court said.<< Quote

In this case the threshold for burden of proof was set very high, it could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt, that the accused were guilty.............

Hey, wait a second : Koh Tao !!

[balford]

I've heard the Thai justice system is the best that money can buy. Thai justice... It's like saying army intelligence with a straight face.

Bob A. Relaxed in Lampang

[Dogmatix]

Angkana Nilaphaijit and Prathapchit Nilaphaijit, wife and daughter of the murdered lawyer

There is a little background to the case in the below humanrights.asia article from last year.

Somchai Neelapaijit was the president of the Thai muslim lawyers association and a human rights activist working on behalf of five men who had alleged that they were tortured by state security officials while they were in custody in Narathiwat, one of the three southern-most Thai provinces, which has been under martial law since January 2004 and under emergency regulations since July 2005.

On 11 March 2004, the day before his enforced disappearance, Somchai submitted a complaint to the National Human Rights Commission, the Royal Thai Police, and the Senate which detailed the forms of torture experienced by the five men. He argued that this was both a violation of their rights and the Criminal Code, which prohibits torture. He also spoke out publicly and passionately on the case, accusing the police of gross wrongdoing. On 12 March 2004, one day after he submitted the complaint, five policemen pulled Somchai Nilaphaijit from his car on a main road in Bangkok. He has not been seen since then.

Apparently under Thai law, in contrast to Western law, without a body – which could never be located – a murder charge cannot be levied.

Therefore, the involved police officers were charged and prosecuted for theft (of Somchai's vehicle) and coercion. Only one police officer out of five was found guilty by the Court of First Instance in January 2006. However, additional evidential problems led to his acquittal by the Appeal Court in March 2011.

The latest news is that the Thai Supreme Court today freed all five police officers charged with robbery and abduction of human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit ending over a decade long court trial.

http://www.humanrights.asia/news/alrc-news/human-rights-council/hrc25/ALRC-CWS-25-12-2014

I understand that the verdict hinged on the fact that the Supreme Court found that Somchai's family could not act as co-plaintiffs in the case because there was no evidence that Somchai had been killed or harmed (he might just have decided to have started a new life under an assumed name after being abducted by police). Since there is no evidence he is dead, Somchai must act as a co-plaintiff himself.

Also there was no evidence that the police intended to steal the car because after they had finished stealing it they just dumped it. Presumably they only intended to abduct him and possibly murder him or hand him over to others for that purpose and are innocent of theft.

Further, police couldn't have known that Somchai was filing the complaint about the torture because he hadn't personally signed the complaint, even though he was known to be representing the alleged torture victims. Therefore there was no conceivable motive for police to abduct or murder him, as they couldn't possibly have imagined he was behind the complaint without seeing his signature on it in black and white. Similarly police investigating the Koh Tao case had no possible motive for falsifying evidence against the Burmese or torturing them because they didn't know them personally beforehand or have any grudges against them.

Pol Maj Ngern who was initially convicted in the Somchai case also disappeared and forfeited bail before he was acquitted on appeal but still hasn't returned. So this ruling, at least, means that his family will not be able to act as co-plaintiffs in a case against Somchai's family for obliging him to disappear due to a wrongful conviction.

Make sense of all that, if you can.

Edited December 30, 2015 by Dogmatix

[Dogmatix]

>.Records of telephone calls among the officers, allegedly calling each other while following Somchai - were not reliable enough to convince the court that those officials were involved in Somchai's disappearance. Eyewitnesses failed to confirm exactly how Somchai was forced by police officers to get in a car and many witnesses gave contradicting testimony to the court about the identity of people at the scene, the court said.<< Quote

In this case the threshold for burden of proof was set very high, it could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt, that the accused were guilty.............

Hey, wait a second : Koh Tao !!

Say no more or you might be classified as a shadowy force.

[spidermike007]

So you can now go and robbery and abduction someone, kill him and don't must be worry to go in prison if you feed the body to the pigs?

This will give new business ideas to some people!!!

Absolutely not. If caught you will be tried and convicted. You cannot get away with that.

The caveat here, is how much money do you have? Are you wealthy? Do you have 20 to 30 million to spend on getting off the charges? Are you influential? What is your family name? Who do you know? If you answered correctly to any of these, then no problem. You can do as you wish, without consequences, other than the financial burden.

[Puwa]

Two more pieces of information about this 4case. Thaksin made two notable statements after the disappearance. First he said that Somchai probably just ran off with a woman. And later he said that he knew Somchai was dead and he knew who was responsible.

The other sad event is that Dr. Porntip, the renowned forensic investigator, was helping out on this case for a while, but eventually withdrew because of threats to her safety.

Edited December 30, 2015 by Puwa

[snowgard]

After this court decision it will not be a surprise for me if a family member play the game after the old law "an eye for an eye" now!!!

And maybe visit this excellents judges too.

[houlicha]

Until today he was still not accounted for.

So you found him today? Great news!

[Baerboxer]

Angkana Nilaphaijit and Prathapchit Nilaphaijit, wife and daughter of the murdered lawyer

There is a little background to the case in the below humanrights.asia article from last year.

Somchai Neelapaijit was the president of the Thai muslim lawyers association and a human rights activist working on behalf of five men who had alleged that they were tortured by state security officials while they were in custody in Narathiwat, one of the three southern-most Thai provinces, which has been under martial law since January 2004 and under emergency regulations since July 2005.

On 11 March 2004, the day before his enforced disappearance, Somchai submitted a complaint to the National Human Rights Commission, the Royal Thai Police, and the Senate which detailed the forms of torture experienced by the five men. He argued that this was both a violation of their rights and the Criminal Code, which prohibits torture. He also spoke out publicly and passionately on the case, accusing the police of gross wrongdoing. On 12 March 2004, one day after he submitted the complaint, five policemen pulled Somchai Nilaphaijit from his car on a main road in Bangkok. He has not been seen since then.

Apparently under Thai law, in contrast to Western law, without a body – which could never be located – a murder charge cannot be levied.

Therefore, the involved police officers were charged and prosecuted for theft (of Somchai's vehicle) and coercion. Only one police officer out of five was found guilty by the Court of First Instance in January 2006. However, additional evidential problems led to his acquittal by the Appeal Court in March 2011.

The latest news is that the Thai Supreme Court today freed all five police officers charged with robbery and abduction of human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit ending over a decade long court trial.

http://www.humanrights.asia/news/alrc-news/human-rights-council/hrc25/ALRC-CWS-25-12-2014

I understand that the verdict hinged on the fact that the Supreme Court found that Somchai's family could not act as co-plaintiffs in the case because there was no evidence that Somchai had been killed or harmed (he might just have decided to have started a new life under an assumed name after being abducted by police). Since there is no evidence he is dead, Somchai must act as a co-plaintiff himself.

Also there was no evidence that the police intended to steal the car because after they had finished stealing it they just dumped it. Presumably they only intended to abduct him and possibly murder him or hand him over to others for that purpose and are innocent of theft.

Further, police couldn't have known that Somchai was filing the complaint about the torture because he hadn't personally signed the complaint, even though he was known to be representing the alleged torture victims. Therefore there was no conceivable motive for police to abduct or murder him, as they couldn't possibly have imagined he was behind the complaint without seeing his signature on it in black and white. Similarly police investigating the Koh Tao case had no possible motive for falsifying evidence against the Burmese or torturing them because they didn't know them personally beforehand or have any grudges against them.

Pol Maj Ngern who was initially convicted in the Somchai case also disappeared and forfeited bail before he was acquitted on appeal but still hasn't returned. So this ruling, at least, means that his family will not be able to act as co-plaintiffs in a case against Somchai's family for obliging him to disappear due to a wrongful conviction.

Make sense of all that, if you can.

Sums it up very nicely!

Nothing is what it seems to be, is black and white but sometimes grey, and totally fluid and unconnected. Fits all but suits only a few.

A truly unique system.

[soalbundy]

Hey, leave it alone it's Christmas......oh! humane rights, sorry, i forgot.

[gemguy]

When you read about this sort of injustice all the time perpetrated by Thai people against mainly Thai people, but in the end can be or could be anyone they want to eliminate, it really makes it very difficult to respect Thai people in general .....Because... it seems anyone of them is easily capable of being just like the creepy people you read about ...all the time....as it is never ending...repeated over and over again amongst the population.

The bulk of the police force does not come from educated or well off citizens rather just your average and often poorer percent of the population and you see what develops and what they turn into all too often while it is not a recent trend rather a serious social problem that the citizens at large have always had to tolerate.

It is very apparent that a much, higher percent of the people here in Thailand easily abandon their moral compass and participate in the most heinous of crimes all too often while they are believed and or said to be supposedly virtuous in so many ways while we are continually bombarded by the usual rhetoric and the usual cultural doctrine that the outside world seemingly accepts and believes.

In the end there are just too many potential participants everywhere throughout the country at all levels of society.

Not to say other countries do not have the same or similar ongoing social maladies ( some worse, such as some of the Latin American countries ) having to be contended with or tolerated, but, if anything, Thailand is right up there in the top 10 percent of countries having this ominous aspect throughout Thai society as a seemingly chronic condition.....and probably will never change.

Just my observations.

Cheers

[Rhys]

quite sad indeed... just have to trust in karma now..

[tomacht8]

The human lawyer went missing since he was forcibly taken away by these officers since on March 12, 2004. The five officers were seen forcing him into a car on Ramkhamhaeng road in Bangkok.

And then he is gone forever?
Acquitted?
This sucks.