Thailand should leave 'no stone unturned' after 62 found guilty of trafficking

By Amy Sawitta Lefevre

 

FILE PHOTO: Lieutenant General Manas Kongpan (C), a suspected human trafficker, is escorted by officers as he arrives at the criminal court in Bangkok, Thailand, November 10, 2015. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - More needs to be done to ensure that human traffickers are brought to justice and Rohingya migrants are protected, rights groups said on Thursday, after a trial in which 62 people were convicted of crimes including trafficking and murder.

 

A Bangkok court convicted the 62, including a general, police officers and provincial officials, on Wednesday at the end of Thailand's biggest ever human-trafficking trial.

 

The trial began in 2015 after the discovery of more than 30 bodies in shallow graves near the Malaysian border in what authorities said was a jungle camp where traffickers held migrants hostage until relatives paid ransom for their release.

 

The discovery led to more than 100 arrests.

 

Many of the dead were believed to be Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority from Myanmar, many of whom seek refuge in mostly Muslim Malaysia. Thailand has not released a full report on the graves or the results of forensic tests.

 

"The trial and convictions was just the first step," Sunai Phasuk, seniorThailand researcher at Human Rights Watch, told Reuters.

 

"The government needs to do more beyond this and continue investigations. It should leave no stone unturned."

 

The court took more than 12 hours to deliver the verdicts which rights groups said showed the government was serious about the problem.

 

The convicted included Myanmar nationals.

 

The longest jail term was 94 years, for Soe Naing, widely known as Anwar, a Rohingya man who police said was a key figure behind the jungle camp where dozens died.

 

Thailand has long been a source, destination and transit country for men, women and children smuggled and trafficked from poorer, neighbouring countries, including Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, to Thailand or further afield, often to work as labourers and sex workers.

 

Last month, the U.S. State Department left Thailand on a Tier 2 Watchlist, just above the lowest ranking of Tier 3, in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report.

 

The State Department said Thailand did not do enough to tackle human smuggling and trafficking, and did not convict officials "complicit in trafficking crimes".

 

Wednesday's convictions could help lift Thailand out of Tier 2 next year, rights groups said.

 

'MASSIVE OPERATION'

 

While welcoming the outcome of the trial, rights groups said more needed to be done, both to protect the estimated 5,000 Rohingya in Thailand, and to investigate the smugglers' camps where many more victims of beatings, disease and starvation are believed to be buried.

 

Police, troops and security volunteers in 2015 did not search hills surrounding the mass grave site, despite evidence from rights groups and media that other graves were dotted along the border.

 

"Thai authorities shouldn't sweep undiscovered mass graves under the rug of this trial," Amy Smith, executive director of Fortify Rights, said in a statement.

 

"We documented a massive operation that trafficked tens of thousands of Rohingya during a three-year period. The loss of life was significantly more than the focus of this trial."

 

Weerachon Sukondhapatipak, a government spokesman, said Thailandwould press on with investigations.

 

"The government will use the tools at its disposal to solve the trafficking problem," Weerachon told Reuters.

 

"We won't stop at this."

 

Myanmar's treatment of its roughly one million Rohingya has emerged as its most contentious rights issue as it makes a transition from decades of harsh military rule.

 

The Rohingya are denied citizenship and classified as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, despite claiming roots in the region that go back centuries, with communities marginalised and occasionally subjected to communal violence.

 

Many take smugglers' boast across the Bay of Bengal, hoping to start new lives in Southeast Asia.

 

(Additional reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Robert Birsel)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-07-20

It should, but it won't. 

13 minutes ago, webfact said:

The State Department said Thailand did not do enough to tackle human smuggling and trafficking, and did not convict officials "complicit in trafficking crimes"

The US will also know who some of these officials are. This is the reason why they won't be upgraded. The US also knows Thailand knows. Catch 22 for Thailand. 

the main investigator had to run away to australia, after his superior tried to force him to relocate and take duties in the south. After that prayuth called him a traitor and ordered to come back. They all want him dead, as he knows too much

Kudos to Thailand for their unwavering stands on horrors and

misery of human trafficking, so much so that even a general

and similar high ranking people got lengthy prison terms....

33 minutes ago, webfact said:

Thailand should leave 'no stone unturned'

Someone is dreaming. Thailand is the Asian hub of "unturned stones" and pity help anyone who tries to turn them over.

...why are nearly half of the group.... 'not guilty'...???

...and it was said that..... 'there are many similar groups across the country'....???

...and what about the ...'mass graves'....???

Good luck

What were the sentences for the others? 94 years for the Rohingya guy. What about the Thai general and police? What did they get for there involvement? Similar sentences would be in order but I see no mention. Maybe a week or two at the temple. 

today 62, tomorrow 62 new ones

Has anyone seen a list of those convicted and their positions, and if so, where?

 

It would be a very good thing to see what the titles and positions of all those convicted are.

 

It's a shame that apparently Reuters didn't provide such a list. Heck, in this article, they didn't even name the general who's shown in the accompany photo, who presumably now, is no longer a "suspected" human trafficker, but rather, a "convicted" human trafficker.

 

Tier one is unthinkable for Thailand.  One gets a sense that there are many more untouchables who are guilty. 

...and only 1 general "netted"...oh come on....its been going on for years and continues to this day...and he is the only general who knows about it...or was directly involed in the traffikking.....BS...!!!!!

 

Next week we will have the powers beating their chests to the UN/America....saying "See we got 'em all...aren't we good...now lift us up the tier ladder".......

One has to wonder if únturned stones' are not used to hide criminals here sometimes

Edited July 20, 20178 yr by timewilltell

16 hours ago, ezzra said:

even a general

and similar high ranking people got lengthy prison terms

Lieutenant General Manus Kongpan was convicted of several offences involving trafficking and taking bribes and was sentenced to 27 years in prison. The army branded him a "kingpin" in human trafficking while he was a colonel in the military's Internal Security Operations Command. Compare his sentence to Soe Naing's 94 years jail term.

 

Manus got off light and apparently none of the other three military officers in ISOC arrested for trafficking have been sentenced. Kingpin Manus' human trafficking organization clearly required military resources. Were the flag officers in ISOC's chain of command so clueless to Col. Manus' crimes that Manus was promoted through the ranks ultimately to three-star general and aide to Prayut's NCPO? I see Manus' sentencing as an appeasement to further protect the military establishment's immunity from the rule of law.

 

http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/667510/photos-show-army-refugee-island

39 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

I see Manus' sentencing as an appeasement to further protect the military establishment's immunity from the rule of law.

Fall guy about sums it up.  Can't help by think there are others way at the top in the military and high society that are guilty.  Wonder if they had to pay him to take the wrap and keep his mouth shut.

Sadly this will be touted as a "solution" rather than a baby step in the right direction. Authorities will now use this as "evidence" they have done their job.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

In all this palaces their has been virtually no reference to the victims those who employ them and why they are so easy to exploit.

This is not a solution to the problem....at best it is a bandaid but most likely just the tip of an iceberg.

1 hour ago, yellowboat said:

Fall guy about sums it up.  Can't help by think there are others way at the top in the military and high society that are guilty.  Wonder if they had to pay him to take the wrap and keep his mouth shut.

That and the promise of a pardon soon enough

Just now, stephen tracy said:

That and the promise of a pardon soon enough

Yeah, Before then, his cell will probably have a revolving door.