So much has happened since the last post. Time seems to flow differently in Thailand, slowly during the moment but quickly over the day. Before I talk about more recent things I want to talk about a court hearing I observed a few weeks ago.
Nonthaburi Courthouse. Cameras unwelcome
It was a preliminary hearing in a murder case from the southern province of Pattani. The region has been in conflict for years, characterised by some as separatism, other as ethnic conflict, and by a few as Muslim extremism. Whatever the root cause, it’s resulted in many prosecutions against Muslim defendants, often based on shaky charges. The defendant is accused of complicity in a beheading. He has been detained for over eighteen months now. He says he was badly beaten soon after being arrested but he refused to confess to the crime.
Many issues raise concern about prosecutions in Thailand’s south. Under the emergency laws in operation over Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, the military can detain someone for seven days without charge. After seven days if the military wants to keep the person (which they usually do) they apply to bring him under a second law which, with the approval of the court, permits detention for 30 days without charge. On top of that, observers coming from the region said that at the end of the 30 days the military have been simply moving the suspect to another prison and applying to the court for yet another 30 days detention without charge.
In this case, the defendant was charged with complicity in murder (I’m not sure how long after his arrest). Up until his first hearing – 18 months after his arrest – he had been given only one thin document about his charges. For those 18 months the defendant had only a vague idea of the facts alleged to have occurred, and his lawyers couldn’t begin preparing a proper defence case in all this time.
At the hearing itself the three co-accused were brought to the courtroom shackled together, heavy chains around their wrists and ankles. I had heard something of Thai prisons before (and you can see some blogs here) but was still shocked that the defendants were brought to the hearing in such heavy chains and dirty red prison clothes. I wasn’t allowed to take pictures but an example of these chains is here: My concern is that pre-judgements can be more easily formed against people that appear to be criminals, and that this detracts from the presumption of innocence supposedly alive in Thailand.
I’m also concerned about the methods of the prosecutor. He introduced a forensic report to the court and asked the defence to accept it (having had a whole five minutes to read what looked to be a sizeable document). Not surprisingly, it was rejected. On good grounds, I might add: evidence had been obtained from a motorbike (allegedly used as a getaway vehicle) two months after the offence. The State seemed much more concerned with a speedy conviction than due process.
There’s even more. Shortly before his hearing he was charged with a second offence, of ‘belonging to a separatist movement.’ This document is ridiculously vague and does not give details of one specific act that might constitute this charge – and yet this is what the defendant’s lawyers must prepare his defence case on. You can see an unofficial translation of the charge document here.
Prisoner transport. Not your average hotel transfer
A friend of mine here agreed with my concerns with a smile and a joke, in that uncanny way that only people who have seen much hardship can pull off. Three intelligence officers competing in a worldwide intelligence challenge have reached the final round. They must find the only rabbit in ten square kilometres of jungle. They each run off, and after some time the KGB agent returns exhausted and empty handed. A short time later the CIA agent comes back, also without a rabbit. Then some horrific sounds start to come from the jungle – animals screeching in pain, bones breaking. A dirty and sweating Thai intelligence agent emerges from the scrub claiming victory, dragging a beaten and bloodied goat. When questioned by the competition announcer, the Thai officer whacks the goat again, who says in a broken voice… ‘I’m a rabbit, I’m a rabbit, please…!’
I have no idea whether the defendants are innocent or guilty. My concern is simply that they haven’t had access to the rights and standards that should be afforded prisoners. They have been detained for extended periods without trial, and they’ve probably been beaten. They receive only vague charge sheets of what they’re accused of. I hope every case from the south is not like this one.
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