Description of the situation
The Observatory has been informed by the Working Group on Justice for Peace (WGJP) about the acts of harassment and intimidation against Ms. Angkhana Neelapaijit, a prominent human rights activist and widow of Mr. Somchai Neelapaijit, a human rights lawyer who disappeared five years ago following his investigations and defence of victims of torture in the south of Thailand[1].
According to the information received, on the night of June 7, 2009 Mr. Somchai Neelapaijit’s car, parked in front of the family’s residence in Bangkok, was broken and his belongings inside the car were moved without anything being stolen. Ms. Angkhana Neelapaijit reported the incident to the police authorities and her lawyer and later the same day, an investigation team arrived to conduct the necessary research of fingerprints and other elements of the break.
On the night of June 10, 2009, the car belonging to Ms. Neelapaijit’s was broken in exactly the same manner as the car of her husband. The car was also parked in front of the family’s residence. The two attacks took place in a context where Ms. Neelapaijit has recently taken further steps which drew the attention to the case of disappeared Somchai Neelapaijit.
Ms. Angkhana Neelapaijit recently petitioned the civil court to declare her husband missing so she could take control of his assets. The civil court took up the petition and declared on May 18, 2009 that Mr. Neelapaijit was recognised as a missing person as he had been missing for five years, which means that he legally died on March 12, 2009 under the Civil and Commercial Code sections 61 and 62.
In addition, Ms. Neelapaijit had recently meetings with high Thai authorities including the Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, to lobby for greater action. In March 2009, the case was highlighted by the Canadian delegation during the reporting of the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances at the Human Rights Council, at the time of a public commemoration in Bangkok of the fifth anniversary of Mr. Somchai Neelapaijit’s disappearance.
There were also new developments related to this case as it was reported in the media[2]. The police officer sentenced to three years in jail in connection with Mr. Somchai’s disappearance, Mr. Pol Maj Ngern Thongsuk, from the Crime Suppression Division, is believed to have fled the country after having been released from jail while appealing the verdict. Ms. Neelapaijit had then requested the police at the time to investigate the whereabouts of the officer’s body, which was not found. She urged the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) under the Ministry of Justice to investigate Mr. Somchai’s case as a murder case and to find the perpetrators. Ms. Neelapaijit was also recently supporting victims of alleged police killings and disappearances in the north-east to lodge complaints with the DSI.
The Observatory is therefore convinced that the break-ins have been intended to threaten her and her family due to the ongoing pressure and developments regarding the case of disappearance of her husband.
Recommendations
Please write to the Thailand authorities, urging them to:
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Ms. Angkhana Neelapaijit, as well as of her family;
ii. Put an end to any kind of harassment against Ms. Angkhana Neelapaijit, as well as against human rights defenders in Thailand, and ensure in all circumstances that they be able to carry out their human rights activities without hindrances;
iii. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned events as well as into Mr. Somchai Neelapaijit’s disappearance, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the penal sanctions provided by the law;
iv. Comply with all the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, in particular with Article 1, which provides that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, as well as with Article 12.2 (“the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”);
v. More generally, ensure in all circumstances the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with international and regional human rights instruments ratified by Thailand.
Adresses
* Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva, Prime Minister, c/o Government House, Pitsanulok Road, Dusit District, Bangkok 10300, THAILAND, Fax: +66 2 288 4000 ext. 4025, Tel: +66 2 288 4000;
* Mr. Chaowarat Chanweerakul, Minister of Interior, Office of the Ministry of Interior, Atsadang Road, Ratchabophit Pranakorn, Bangkok 10200, THAILAND, Fax: +66 2 226 4371/ 222 8866, Tel: +66 2 224 6320/ 6341, E-mail: om@moi.go.th;
* Mr. Peeraphan Saleeratwipak, Minister of Justice, Office of the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Justice Building, 22nd Floor Software Park Building, Chaeng Wattana Road, Pakkred Nonthaburi 11120, THAILAND, Fax: +662 502 6699/ 6734 / 6884, Tel: +662 502 6776/8223, E-mail: om@moj.go.th
* Mr. Kasit Piromya, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Office of the Minister of Foreign Affair, 443 Sri Ayudhya Road, Bangkok 10400, THAILAND, Fax: +662 643 5318, Tel: +662 643 5333, E-mail: om@mof.go.th
* National Human Rights Commission of Thailand, 422 Phya Thai Road, Panthum Wan District, Bangkok 10300, THAILAND, Fax: +622 219 2940
* Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General, Lukmuang Building, Nahuppei Road, Prabraromrachawang, Pranakorn, Bangkok 10200, THAILAND, Fax: +662 224 0162 / 1448 / 221 0858, ag@ago.go.th; oag@ago.go.th
* Commissioner General, Royal Thai Police, 1st Building, 7th Floor, Rama I, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330, THAILAND, Fax: +662 251 5956 / 205 3738 / 255 1975-8; feedback@police.go.th
· Permanent Mission of Thailand to the United Nations in Geneva, rue Gustave Moynier 5, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland, Tel: + 41 22 715 10 10; Fax: + 41 22 715 10 00 / 10 02; Email: mission.thailand@ties.itu.int
· Embassy of Thailand in Brussels, 2 Sq. du Val de la Cambre, 1050 Ixelles, Belgium, Tel : + 32 2 640.68.10; Fax : + 32 2 .648.30.66. Email : thaibxl@pophost.eunet.be
***
Geneva-Paris, June 25, 2009
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need. The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel and fax FIDH + 33 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT + 41 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29
[1] See Observatory Annual Report 2007.
[2] See Bangkok Post, May 19, 2009.