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

[eddie61]

Thai justice in all its glory

[oldsailor35]

Yes of course they have ! They are not Burmese , are they !

[aslimversgwm]

Anybody (English John looking at you here!) that cannot see what is happening here needs to have a serious reality check..

The way the establishment have defended the police farce here in yet another case that is such an obvious travesty of justice is absolutely vomit inducing

Compare that to the B2 and Koh Tao no real evidence at all and obvious signs the case was mishandled right from the outset but still enough for a death penalty

This case seen by multiple witnesses a gang of Police bundling a troublesome lawyer into a car in who is then never seen again, come on really, you don't have to be Sherlock firkin Holmes do you....

For the likes of the true hypocrite's here such as English John can you not see that it really does not matter who is in charge wrong is still wrong? Who cares what Thaksin did, he is the past but todays lot are proving just as bad

The fact we have the little general and his cronies who says they took power supposedly to stop corruption turning a blind eye and instead concentrating on cementing their power by persecuting anybody who dares to voice opinion

Well seems very obvious to me and it is tragic some of you cannot see it for what it is, not hard is it? then again none so blind as those that refuse to see and Gawd knows we have a few of them on TVF...

So well put. English John is an embarrassment to all of us true Brits.

Maybe he's not actually English?

By the by I'm what Tony Hancock once said in the Blood Donor sketch: 'pure Anglo-Saxon with just a dash of Viking' and have served 10 years in the RAF - just to drive home a point.

[soalbundy]

pretty transparent i would say, transparent concerning what it says about the Thai judiciary.

[Rimmer]

A personal attack on another poster has been removed

[taony]

Reasons given by the Supreme Court were that Somchai’s family could not act as a co-plaintiff and there was no evidence showing that Somchai had been dead or seriously injured.

So to get away with murder, all you need to do is hide the body, safe in the knowledge that nobody can file a case against you, not even the family of the person you murdered.

Absurdity. Its one thing if they are not convicted or if there is a technicality or some kind of reasoning like they are not guilty of the charges against them, but the things that pass here for "reasons " or "explanations " are dumbfounding.

[Nowisee]

Acquit the police, kill the Burmese.

[tuanku]

These were your 'human rights' under Thaksin red-shirts. Somchai and plenty of others.

This is how he took care of business. He was still doing it right until the latest coup. THIRTY innocent people murdered to scare the rest away.

I have no time for such hypocrites.

And things are so much better now...............not.

[soalbundy]

These were your 'human rights' under Thaksin red-shirts. Somchai and plenty of others.

This is how he took care of business. He was still doing it right until the latest coup. THIRTY innocent people murdered to scare the rest away.

I have no time for such hypocrites.

Thaksin has been gone for 9 years now John.

How have human rights fared since?

How are they now?

Now we have a Shinawatra-free Thailand have you noticed any improvements in accountability or justice?

This article is not about Thaksin, John. It's about the Supreme Court ruling that 5 uniformed abductors cannot be found guilty for abduction because no dead or injured body was found.

Sounds fair?

A good example of how human rights have improved under the military?

Justice prevails now Thaksin has gone?

Has it restored your happiness?

I agree, this has happened under all regimes and looks as if it might still be happening now. Theoretically this has nothing to do with whichever government is in power as the courts are, or at least should be separate from government influence on individual cases. It's probably not a good idea to suggest otherwise, particularly now.

One thing I don't agree with you on is the idea that Thaksin has been gone for 9 years. He may not be physically in the country but he appears to have had significant influence and in many cases control right up until last year. He could be credited with having a played a large part in bringing about the coup. The PTP had a large majority and the result was accepted by the Democrats who were challenging the government on their policies in parliament despite attempts to accuse them off stealing bags of rice and bringing charges against Abhisit and Suthep but protecting the army (that went well). His self interest helped stop that.

Ultimately the police and military wield considerable power and it will be difficult to overcome that. Even the current PM can only act with the support of these groups.

Not only these groups, besides the army and the police there is the higher judiciary, the civil service,the establishment, politicians,the industrial complex,financialist's and even the clergy, each has carved out their own kingdom and each is powerful in their own right. No leader ever, anywhere,not even a tyrant is all powerful,not Caesar nor the middle age Kings could ignore these groups.It is inane to point to one leader or another and say he and he alone is to blame.

[SiSePuede419]

Anyone here want to try and convince me that Thailand is not a "third world" country?

Or are you fooled by subways, shiny steel and glass buildings and new pickup trucks (bought on credit)?

555

[8OA8]

>>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.<< Quote

And no criminal charges against the abductors?? <deleted> unbelievable !!

On a side note: My admiration for the wife, who's low profile and yet persistent fight for justice for her husband is worth our respect.........................

Indeed she deserves the respect and it's very unfortunate that this ruling (obviously made in accordance with the law) doesn't afford her that same respect. She does however have a platform to press for change via her role with The National Human Rights Commission, Thailand.

This "Disappearing" of people, is not limited to Thailand. Look at the case of Sombath Somphone in Laos PDR, his wife Dr Shui Meng Ng, Sociologist, Singapore/Laos PDR, is also an avid campaigner against this "Disappearing" of human rights activists.

[cyberfarang]

I do know for certain that he didn`t do a Lord Lucan disappearing act and he probably wasn`t abducted by aliens, which means more innocent victims receive no justice in Thailand and those that are above the laws get away with it scot free with the support of their mates in high places.

The only people that serve time for crimes in Thailand are the poor unable to buy themselves out and the underlings of society having no hi-so connections. Law abiding is a practice strictly reserved for the poor.

[soalbundy]

I do know for certain that he didn`t do a Lord Lucan disappearing act and he probably wasn`t abducted by aliens, which means more innocent victims receive no justice in Thailand and those that are above the laws get away with it scot free with the support of their mates in high places.

The only people that serve time for crimes in Thailand are the poor unable to buy themselves out and the underlings of society having no hi-so connections. Law abiding is a practice strictly reserved for the poor.

and even they don't abide by it, where is Robo cop when you need him

[cplgil]

Very sad, Life means nothing in this country.

[Nowisee]

Anyone here want to try and convince me that Thailand is not a "third world" country?

Or are you fooled by subways, shiny steel and glass buildings and new pickup trucks (bought on credit)?

555

I'll give it a shot.

Um...

Ah....

Nope...can't do it.

[kkup]

Anyone here want to try and convince me that Thailand is not a "third world" country?

Or are you fooled by subways, shiny steel and glass buildings and new pickup trucks (bought on credit)?

555

Mentality definitely 3rd world.

[mrrizzla]

Here is a case from 11 years ago from when old square head is in charge.

Now we have the happy dinosaur brigade in and oh what's that? Two innocent migrant workings are facing the death penalty for murders that a connected Thai high so committed?

This is why I have to call out the junta fan boys on here. Not because I am a red shirt, but because they constantly harp on about the 'Thaksin regime'. Well none before or after him have changed ANYTHING.

[MorristheRunt]

You reap what you sow.

One day , the elite are going to meet a terrible, horrific end and many would say they deserve it and more....

Edited December 29, 2015 by MorristheRunt

[meltingpot2015]

sad day for the wife (now the widow), sad day for the law enforcement (police) system and legal (judicial) system of a country.

Edited December 29, 2015 by meltingpot2015

[MorristheRunt]

Anyone here want to try and convince me that Thailand is not a "third world" country?

Or are you fooled by subways, shiny steel and glass buildings and new pickup trucks (bought on credit)?

555

That's insulting to 3rd world nations.

Cesspit would be more appopriate

[Bung]

"We work based on the principles of transparency and fairness,"

[Trouble]

These were your 'human rights' under Thaksin red-shirts. Somchai and plenty of others.

This is how he took care of business. He was still doing it right until the latest coup. THIRTY innocent people murdered to scare the rest away.

I have no time for such hypocrites.

Sorry but I don't think it matters was regime it happened under as all regimes are complicit in protecting the police, even the current Court under the little man running the country now. It was a police matter and they are still protecting the police no matter what. Just plain corruption. I don't know the details of the case but five officers are witnessed abducting the guy and they receive no punishment. Tells it all, doesn't it?

[cyberfarang]

Here is a case from 11 years ago from when old square head is in charge.

Now we have the happy dinosaur brigade in and oh what's that? Two innocent migrant workings are facing the death penalty for murders that a connected Thai high so committed?

This is why I have to call out the junta fan boys on here. Not because I am a red shirt, but because they constantly harp on about the 'Thaksin regime'. Well none before or after him have changed ANYTHING.

Since the day I was born, in the UK and then in Thailand, there has never been a political party either elected or gained power that has enhanced my way of life. What I have found is throughout the years all the bureaucracy and red tape has made life more difficult and complicated, creating more hoops to jump through year by year and why I`ve never cared who gets in. If voting, may just a well place all the party candidates in a hat and blindly chose one, because none of them will make any difference.

[katana]

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

[webfact]

MISSING LAWYER
Ruling disappoints family
The Nation


Angkhana Neelapaijit, right, and her daughter emerge from court yesterday after hearing the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Appeals Court’s |dismissal of the charges against all defendants implicated in the disappearance of her husband

Supreme Court upholds acquittal of police accused of abduction of lawyer Somchai

BANGKOK: -- THE WIFE of missing human-rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit said she was sad and disappointed after the Supreme Court yesterday upheld the acquittal of five police officers accused of conspiring to abduct him in 2004.

The court yesterday delivered the final verdict on the case, acquitting Pol Major Ngern Thongsuk, Pol Lt-Colonel Sinchai Nimpunyakampong, Sgt-Major Chaiweng Paduang, Sergeant Randorn Sittikhet and Pol Lt-Colonel Chadchai Leamsa-nguan, who has now changed his name to Napanwut. It said that evidence |presented by investigators was |unreliable.

Ngern was not present in the court, as has been missing since 2008.

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.

Somchai, a Muslim lawyer, went missing in Bangkok in March 2004 after playing a crucial role in providing legal assistance to Muslim suspects accused of being linked to violence in the deep South. He was regarded among security officials as a troublemaker, and said he interfered with their work to crack down on insurgents in the predominantly Muslim region.

His wife Angkhana said in a statement: "The Supreme Court ruled that the evidence presented by investigators was unreliable and no officials involved could confirm the credibility of the witnesses and evidence submitted to court."

The court also ruled that under Thai law, Somchai's family has no right to join the public prosecutors as co-complainants in the case because there was no proof that damage occurred to the family, as it could not be proved if Somchai was alive or dead.

Angkhana said the Supreme Court seemed to be setting a precedent for Thai society that forced disappearances could not be brought to justice.

"This confirms that the family of people forced to disappear have no right to seek justice on behalf of missing people, as they have no proof that the missing is injured or dead. So they cannot take legal action," her statement said.

Angkhana, speaking to reporters, also called on the government to ratify the United Nations' international convention on the protection of all people from enforced disappearance.

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

"I would like to stress that forced disappearance is a crime to humanity. The victims and their families should have the right to know the truth and to get justice," she said.

Somchai's daughter Pratubjit was also dejected.

"I feel very disappointed. This is a failure of the judicial process," she told reporters outside court.

"I would like to ask the same question I have asked for the past 10 years: Where is Somchai? Where has he disappeared to?" Angkhana asked.

Somchai disappeared from the streets of Bangkok during the government of Thaksin Shinawatra amid a surge in fighting between the Army and separatists in the deep South.

Thaksin, who was deposed in a coup in September 2006, went on record as saying the lawyer had been killed by at least four government officials, although his body has never been recovered.

In January 2006, Pol Major Ngern was sentenced for three years in prison by the primary court, but he later disappeared - allegedly in a landslide, while the other four walked free.

In March 2011, the Appeals Court ruled all five were not guilty.

Rights groups have accused successive Thai governments and the Department of Special Investigation of failing to get to the bottom of Somchai's abduction and probable murder.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Ruling-disappoints-family-30275879.html


-- The Nation 2015-12-30

[SiSePuede419]

"If voting, may just a well place all the party candidates in a hat and blindly chose one, because none of them will make any difference."

There you have it folks. Low information voters are the reason why bad things happen. And continue to happen.

I'm not British, yet I know Thatcher made a huge difference. She promoted policies to help the Rich and hurt the Middle Class. Same as old Ronald Reagan across the pond.

The Middle Class is still suffering decades later.

555

[Bluespunk]

Yeah all those middle class inner city kids thrown into the trash heap, all those middle class schools forced to sell their green spaces, all those middle class miners, railway workers, ship builders, car factory workers, steel foundry workers and countless other middle class workers who were destroyed by thatchers right wing rabid policies.

Yep, the middle class got it bad under the milk snatcher.

[EyesWideOpen]

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.....

[ianf]

Here is a case from 11 years ago from when old square head is in charge.

Now we have the happy dinosaur brigade in and oh what's that? Two innocent migrant workings are facing the death penalty for murders that a connected Thai high so committed?

This is why I have to call out the junta fan boys on here. Not because I am a red shirt, but because they constantly harp on about the 'Thaksin regime'. Well none before or after him have changed ANYTHING.

Since the day I was born, in the UK and then in Thailand, there has never been a political party either elected or gained power that has enhanced my way of life. What I have found is throughout the years all the bureaucracy and red tape has made life more difficult and complicated, creating more hoops to jump through year by year and why I`ve never cared who gets in. If voting, may just a well place all the party candidates in a hat and blindly chose one, because none of them will make any difference.

Is it up to a political party to enhance your way of life? Is that not up to your own efforts? Is a political party's job to administer the country and ensure the rule of law? When you get people such as, say, Franco's regime in Spain or Mussolini's in Italy, you probably would care who gets in as opening the door to these kind of people will destroy your life which happened. Caring is an important part of being a citizen. And how come you were born in the UK AND in Thailand? Miraculous!

[Oziex1]

I carefully check the country of manufacture or producer of goods, I avoid Thai products.

It does however cause a dilemma as many goods we purchase are produced by developing nations with poor human rights records.

What to do?