Arrest followed by the release of five of the 11 activists facing judicial harassment

New Information

THA 001 / 0116 / OBS008.1
Arbitraryarrest / Release /

Ongoing judicial harassment /

Thailand
January25, 2016

TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme ofthe World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federationfor Human Rights (FIDH) has received new information and requests your urgentintervention in the following situation in Thailand.

Newinformation:

TheObservatory has been informed by reliable sources about the arrest followed bythe release of Mr. Sirawit Seritiwat, Ms. Chonthicha Jaeung-Rew,Ms. Chanoknan Ruamsap, Mr. Korakot Saengyenpan andMr. AbhisitSapnaphapan, five of the 11 activists[1] arrested onDecember 7, 2015 and accused of violating the Head of National Council forPeace and Order (NCPO) Order No. 3/2015 (see background information).

Accordingto the information received, on January 20, 2016, at around 10:30 pm, Mr.Sirawit Seritiwat was abducted by eight men wearing military uniforms, outsidethe gate of the Thammasat University Ransgit campus, in Pathumthani Provincenear Bangkok. He was blindfolded, forced onto a pick-up truck with coveredplate and taken to an unknown area. When the car stopped, he was dragged to agrass field where he was forced to kneel down, hit on the head, and kicked. Mr.Seritiwat also reported being hit with a rifle barrel as he heard the sound ofa gun being cocked. Around 1 am, he was taken to the Nimitmai police station inBangkok, where he was held until the following morning, before being transferred again to Bangkok’s ThonburiRailway police station.

Thepolice record of arrest indicated that Mr. Seritiwat was handed over to policecustody by military officers from the 2nd Battalion of the Army’s 2ndInfantry Regiment.

Thenext day, on January 21, 2016 around 9 am, police arrested fellow studentactivists Ms. Chonthicha Jaeung-Rew, Ms. Chanoknan Ruamsap, and Mr. KorakotSaengyenpan, who had shown up at the Thonburi Railway police station to showsolidarity with Mr. Seritiwat.

Thefour student activists were held at the police station until 1:30 pm beforebeing taken to the Bangkok MilitaryCourt where the police filed a petition requesting pre-trial detention. Theywere released around 4 pm after the Court dismissed the police request. Aroundthe same time, Mr. Abhisit Sapnaphapan,[2] wasarrested in front of the Military Court and taken to the nearby Chanasongkrampolice station, before being transferred to the Thonburi Railway police stationin relation to previous charges of violating the Head of NCPO Order No. 3/2015.Mr. Abhisit Sapnaphapan was released on January 22 at about 11:30 am after theBangkok Military Court rejected a police request for pre-trial detention.

The five areamong the eleven activists arrested then released on December 7, 2015, andaccused of violating the Head of NCPO Order No. 3/2015. If indicted by militaryprosecutor, they will face trial before a military court, and could face up tosix months of imprisonment and/or a fine not exceeding 10,000 Baht(approximately 250 Euros).

TheObservatory strongly condemns the ongoing judicial harassment against thestudent activists, since it appears to only aim at sanctioning their legitimatehuman rights activities, as well as their freedom of assembly, association andexpression, as enshrined in international human rights instruments.

Moregenerally, the Observatory calls on the Thai authorities to put an end to theongoing attempts to criminalise the 11 activists, as well as to put itslegislation on gatherings and protests in line with international human rightsstandards ratified by Thailand.

Backgroundinformation:

OnDecember 7, 2015, military authorities arrested 36 people, including studentactivists during a train ride from Bangkok to Hua Hin, Prachuab KirikhanProvince. Their “advocacytrip,”named“the TrainRide to Shed Light on Fraud at the Rajabhakti Park,” sought to demand theopening of an investigation into alleged corruption in the construction of themilitary-sponsored Rajabhakti Park in Prachuab Kirikhan Province.

Ontheir way to Hua Hin, the activists were stopped at Baan Pong train station,Ratchaburi province, where 36 of them were arrested. They were subsequentlytaken in military custody to the 9th Infantry Regiment Command, atemporary military unit in Putthamonthon Buddhist Park, Nakhon Pathom. Themilitary officers claimed to have arrested and detained them in accordance withthe Head of NCPO Order No. 3/2015, which imposes a ban on political gatheringsof five or more persons without a prior official authorization[3].

Whilein custody, some officers recorded their personal data and forced them to signa pledge vowing they would not join any political movement again in the futureand that they would not leave the country without the authorities’ priorpermission. Lawyers were denied access to the detainees throughout theirdetention. All were released on the same day.

However,11 activists, Mr. Sirawit Seritiwat, Mr. Anon Nampa, Ms. ChonthichaJaeung-Rew, Ms. Chanoknan Ruamsap, Mr. Thanet Anantawong, Mr. KititituchSuman, Mr. Wisarut Anukulkanm, Mr. Abhisit Sapnaphapan, Mr. KorakotSaengyenpan, Ms. Kornkanok Khumta, and Mr. Vichit Hanhaboon,refused to sign the pledge, and were therefore accused of violating the Head ofNCPO Order No. 3/2015.

OnDecember 29, 2015, the 11 activists who had refused to sign the pledge weresummoned by the Thonburi Railway police. The Thai Lawyers for Human Rights(TLHR),[4] anorganisation that provides legal representation to the activists, submitted aletter on behalf of nine of them to postpone the summons to January 8, 2016, onthe grounds that the latter would not be able to show up on that date due toother ongoing judicial proceedings against them amongst others[5]. Accordingly,the Thonburi Railway police allowed the adjournment as requested.

OnDecember 29, only two of the 11 summoned activists appeared. Messrs. KititituchSuman and Vichit Hanhaboon denied all charges. Mr. Vichit Hanhaboon was askedto submit an additional written defense statement to the police regarding thecircumstances of the events by January 15, 2016.

OnJanuary 8, 2016, three more activists, Mr. Anon Nampa, Mr. Wisarut Anukulkanm,and Ms. Kornkanok Khumta, appeared at the police station and similarly deniedall charges.

OnJanuary 13, 2016, arrest warrants were issued by the Bangkok Military Court forthe six remaining activists who had failed to appear at the police station onJanuary 8 as summoned.

Ifindicted by military prosecutor, the 11 activists will face trial before amilitary court, and could face up to six months of imprisonment and/or a finenot exceeding 10,000 Baht (approximately 250 Euros), for violations of the Headof NCPO Order No. 3/2015.

Actionsrequested:

Pleasewrite to the authorities in Thailand, urging them to:

i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical andpsychological integrity of the 11 activists, as well as of all other humanrights defenders in the country;

ii. Drop immediately and unconditionally allcharges against the 11 activists, as they only seem to be aimed at sanctioningtheir legitimate human rights activities;

iii. Put an end to all acts of harassment -including at the judicial level - against the 11 activists, as well as againstall other human rights defenders in Thailand so that they are able to carry outtheir work without hindrances;

iv. Repeal the Head of NCPO Order No. 3/2015, whichcontravenes Thailand’shuman rights obligations under the International Covenant on Civil andPolitical Rights (ICCPR);

v. Conform with the provisions of the UNDeclaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of theUnited Nations on December 9, 1998, especially:

Article 1,which states that “everyonehas the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and tostrive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamentalfreedoms at the national and international levels”; and

Article5(a), which states that “For the purpose of promoting and protectinghuman rights and fundamental freedoms, everyone has the right, individually andin association with others, at the national and international levels: to meetor assemble peacefully”;

Article12.2, which provides that “"the State shall take all necessarymeasures 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, pressureor any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimateexercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;

vi. More generally, ensure in all circumstances therespect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights and with international and regional humanrights instruments ratified by Thailand.

Addresses:

• Prime Minister, Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha,Government House, 1 Phitsanulok Road, Dusit, 10300, Bangkok, THAILAND; Fax: +66(0) 2 282 5131

• Minister of Interior, Gen Anupong Paochinda,Asatang Road, Ratchabophit, 10200, Bangkok, THAILAND

• Minister of Foreign Affairs, DonPramudwinai, Sri Ayutthaya Building, 443 Sri Ayutthaya Road, Phaya Thai, 10400,Bangkok, THAILAND; Fax: +66 (0) 2 643 5320; Email: minister@mfa.go.th

• Minister of Justice, Gen PaiboonKhumchaya, 120 Chaeng Watthana Road, Laksi, 10210, Bangkok, THAILAND; Fax: +66(0) 2 953 0503

• Pol Gen Somyot Poompanmoung,Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police, 1st Building, 7th Floor, Rama IRoad, Pathumwan, 10330, Bangkok, THAILAND; Fax: +66 (0) 2 251 5956 / +66 (0) 2251 8702

• Mr. Wat Tingsamit, Chairperson of theNational Human Rights Commission of Thailand; 120 Chaeng Watthana Road, Laksi,10210, Bangkok, THAILAND; Email: help@nhrc.or.th

• Permanent Mission of Thailand to theUnited 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 2648 30 66; Email: thaibxl@pophost.eunet.be

Please also write tothe diplomatic mission or embassy of Thailand in your respective country.

[1] The group includes members ofthe the Neo Democracy Movement (NDM), an organisation advocating for therestoration of democracy, for the end of trials against civilians beforemilitary courts, and for the respect of human rights and freedoms. NDM isdriven by five principles: democracy, human rights, justice, publicparticipation and peaceful means (non-violence).

[2] On May 22, 2015, Thai policearrested student activists with the Neo Democracy Movement (NDM) , includingMr. Abhisit Sapnaphapan, in connection with their participation in peacefulprotests held in Khon Kaen and in Bangkok to mark the first anniversary of themilitary coup. See Observatory Urgent Appeal THA 002 / 0715 / OBS 055.2

[3] According to the Head of NCPOOrder No. 3/2015, Article 12(1) states that any political gathering of five ormore persons shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding six months or afine not exceeding ten thousand Baht, or both, unless permission has beengranted by the Head of the NCPO or an authorized representative.

[4] TLHR is an organization set upafter the 2014-coup to provide legal aid to civilian arrested and/or prosecutedby military, and to monitor and document post-coup human rights situations andviolations throughout Thailand. Although in existence for just more than ayear, TLHR received a human rights award by the French Embassy in Bangkok inDecember 2014.

[5] For example, Mr. ThanetAnantawong, who was charged with sedition for his Facebook post criticising theNCPO, could not report himself to police as he had to appear before the BangkokMilitary Court for pre-trial detention and bail the same day.