(New York) - Thai authorities should investigate the death of a suspected insurgent detained by the army in Pattani province in southern Thailand, Human Rights Watch said today.
Sulaiman Naesa, 25, died under suspicious circumstances on May 30, 2010, at the Inkhayuthboriharn army camp in Nong Chik district. Army officers claim Sulaiman committed suicide by hanging himself with a towel. Sulaiman's relatives and local human rights groups told Human Rights Watch that they saw what they believe are visible signs of torture on his body, including blood dripping from his genitals, a wound on the left side of his neck, and a wound apparently from a sharpened object on his back, just above the waist.
"Thai soldiers are fighting a difficult separatist insurgency in the south, but that is no excuse for the brutal treatment of suspects in custody," said Elaine Pearson, acting Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Sulaiman's death raises concerns that soldiers are once again using torture and other illegal methods against detainees."
Thai army personnel told Human Rights Watch that Sulaiman was accused of involvement in 14 insurgent attacks on civilians and security personnel, mostly in the Sai Buri district of Pattani province. Following his arrest on May 22, Sulaiman had been detained without charge under the Emergency Decree on Public Administration in a State of Emergency (Emergency Decree) at the Inkhayuthboriharn army camp.
Human Rights Watch has repeatedly found that basic rights of suspected insurgents are not respected under the Emergency Decree. The Emergency Decree effectively provides Thai security forces with legal immunity and broad powers to detain individuals without charge in unofficial places of detention for up to 30 days. To date, enforcement of the decree in the south has failed to include either effective judicial oversight or prompt access to legal counsel and family members.
The risk of enforced disappearance, torture, and other ill-treatment significantly increases when detainees are held incommunicado in unofficial detention sites and under the control of the army, which lacks training and experience in civilian law enforcement.
Human Rights Watch called on the Thai government and army to immediately ensure the safety of all detainees, to provide urgent medical care to all those who sustain injuries during arrest or in detention, to allow timely access to legal counsel and family members, and to open a full investigation into allegations of torture and ill-treatment.
Sulaiman's death in custody is the first known case in two years, since the killing of Yapa Kaseng, an imam, in March 2008. He had been tortured to death by soldiers at the camp of the army's 39th Taskforce in Rue Soh district of Narathiwat province. Domestic and international pressure at that time prompted the army's commander-in-chief, Gen. Anupong Phaochinda, to pledge that any persons found responsible would be punished. However there has been no progress in the criminal prosecution of any soldier involved in Imam Yapa's case, nor in other cases of human rights violations committed by Thai security forces against detained suspects, particularly during the notorious 2007-2008 "Operations Defending Southern Land."
In a November 29, 2009 nationwide address, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said that Thai authorities would balance the needs of counterinsurgency operations with the requirements of unbiased justice. Yet little has changed since that speech. The ongoing failures to ensure justice for victims of state-sponsored rights violations have seriously undermined Abhisit's credibility among the Muslim population in the southern border provinces.
"Sulaiman's death is a test case for the Thai government and army leaders on whether they are willing to hold abusers accountable," Pearson said. "Will they allow local officials to organize a cover-up, or will they ensure a transparent and impartial criminal investigation and prosecute those found responsible?"
Human rights in Thailand's southern border provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, and Songkhla have eroded steadily as a result of insurgent attacks against civilians and tit-for-tat responses by the security forces. More than 4,000 people have died in the violence since January 2004. The majority of victims are civilians from both the Muslim and Buddhist communities.
While separatist insurgents in the Pejuang Kemerdekaan Patani (Patani Freedom Fighters), part of the loose network of BRN-Coordinate (National Revolution Front-Coordinate), have suffered setbacks since late 2007, they still maintain their presence in hundreds of Muslim villages. The insurgents use state-sponsored human rights abuses to justify their call for Muslims to support and fight with them for the liberation of the predominantly Muslim provinces from the "infidels" (referring to Thai authorities and Buddhist Thai people).
In retaliation for Sulaiman's death, several insurgent cells have stepped up attacks in Pattani province that included shooting civilians. For example, on June 3, insurgents shot dead a Buddhist teacher, Bunnam Yodnui, in Kok Po district. On June 5, insurgents ambushed and killed three Buddhist workers (Krisada Nuankhao, Wansiri Suriya, and Inthawong Chaokla) from a Charoen Pokphand shrimp farm in Nong Jik district.
"Insurgents justify attacks on civilians by saying they are retaliating against abuses by Thai security forces, and the army responds in kind - it's a deadly and vicious circle," Pearson said. "Prosecuting troops for mistreatment could help calm the situation and rebuild trust with the Muslim community."
