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Pubdate: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 Source: Nation, The (Thailand) Copyright: 2004 Nation Multimedia Group Contact: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1963 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/area/Thailand A US STATE DEPT LOOK AT THE WAR ON DRUGS The following is an excerpt from the recently released report by the US State Department on human rights practices Thailand, particularly the alleged extra-judicial killings in connection with the anti-drug campaign last year: There were no confirmed reports of politically motivated killings by the government or its agents; however, elements of the Royal Thai Police continued to use excessive, lethal force against criminal suspects and committed or were connected to numerous extra-judicial, arbitrary and unlawful killings. For example, according to the Interior Ministry, as of February 27, 993 persons had been killed during confrontations with police in the first two months of the year. However, NGOs alleged that these government figures underestimated the true number of persons killed while being apprehended by police. On February 1, 2003, the prime minister initiated a three-month war-on-drugs campaign intended to eliminate narcotics from the country. The Interior minister instructed local authorities to update "blacklists" of individuals suspected of being involved in illegal drug trafficking, sale, or use, and the prime minister told the governors and provincial police that those who failed to eliminate a prescribed percentage of the names from their blacklists would be fired. The government threatened retaliation against local officials who did not produce results. There were reports that local officials used the blacklists as a means to settle political differences. According to official figures, there were 1,386 narcotics-related deaths between February 1 and April 30, 2003. No arrests were made in 1,195 of these cases, which led many observers to believe police were responsible for most of these deaths. According to press reports, more than 2,200 alleged drug criminals were killed during the year, while more than 90,000 suspects were arrested. Human rights activists accused the government of unleashing a "shoot to kill" policy and condoning the killings of suspected drug dealers. The government in turn claimed that many of the killings resulted from dealers fighting each other. Many of those killed were civilians. For example, in February, police shot and killed a nine-year-old boy in the back seat of a car driven by his mother following the arrest of his father on drug trafficking charges. The three police involved in the shooting were arrested for intentional murder; however, the court ruled that the killing was accidental and justified. In response to criticism from national and international NGOs and other foreign governments, the government created several official committees to investigate the killings; by year's end, security force involvement had been acknowledged in 55 deaths during the February to April period. Of these, 39 were forwarded to prosecutors for submission to the courts, and the other 16 remained under investigation. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) requested that a special envoy visit the country; however, the government refused the visit. In August, several separatists were reportedly killed by police in the country's southern provinces. In the past, when the government investigated extra-judicial killings, it prosecuted few of the accused police or military officers. Senior prosecutors and NGO legal associations claimed that most cases against police or military officers accused of extra-judicial killings eventually were dismissed because regulations outlined in the Criminal Code require public prosecutors to rely exclusively upon the recommendations of the police when determining whether to bring a case for criminal prosecution. The resulting routine exoneration of police officers contributed to a climate of impunity that persisted in preventing any major change in police behaviour. It also discouraged relatives of victims from pressing for prosecution. Procedures for investigating suspicious deaths, including deaths occurring in police custody, required among other things, that the prosecutor, a forensic pathologist, and a local administrator participate in the investigation and that family members have legal representation at the inquests. However, these procedures often were not followed. Families rarely took advantage of a provision in the law that allows them to bring personal lawsuits against police officers for criminal action during arrest. There was no information available to determine how many cases were settled out of court. However, in cases in which suits were filed, the official charged often compensated the family of the deceased, and the lawsuit was waived. Compensation varied widely, from as low as $3,490-$69,770 (Bt150,000-Bt3 million). There were no developments in the 2002 killings in Chiang Rai, where police officers killed several civilians who were suspected of drug trafficking. According to the Interior Ministry's Investigation and Legal Affairs Bureau, during the first six months of the year, 1,197 persons died in police custody (Section 1.c.). Most of these deaths were attributed by the authorities to natural illness. During the year, detainees at the Muang Surat Thani Police Station died in custody. T The National Human Rights Commission investigated these cases and concluded that the detainees had died as a result of injuries sustained when police beat them. However, according to the Law Society of Thailand, no action was taken against police officers in these cases. Instead, the victim's cellmates were pending trial for the murder at year's end. In January 2003 an official from Muang Kanchanaburi Police Station was suspended from duty pending investigation for beating a detainee to death. At year's end, an investigation into the case continued. Investigations of 25 killings of political canvassers during the election campaigns leading up to the 2001 general election and the 2000 Senate elections remained open and unresolved at year's end. In 2002, at least 36 persons were killed by landmines in border areas. During the year, a civilian de-mining unit continued to survey and remove landmines from border areas. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake