Home » A joint petition of eight organizations Demanding an unconditional release of Mr. Muhammad Yaki Salae, JOP

A joint petition of eight organizations Demanding an unconditional release of Mr. Muhammad Yaki Salae, JOP

A joint petition of eight organizations Demanding an unconditional release of Mr. Muhammad Yaki Salae, Chairperson of the Justice for Peace network (JOP)

For immediate release on 2 May 2015

On 24 April 2015, police officials invited Mr. Muhammad-yaki Salae, Chairperson of the Justice for Peace Network (JOP) to meet at the Muang Yala Police Station claiming that he was under arrest warrant for his involvement with the bomb attack in the city of Yala, though the case had already been dismissed by the Court.

To prove his innocence and to show his willingness to cooperate with the authorities, Mr. Muhammad-yaki Salae has gone to meet the police in the Muang District Police Station after which he was taken to the Ingkhayuth Boriham Army Camp in Tambon Bor Thong, Nongchik District, Pattani, for further inquiry. He has been held in custody since 24 April until 1 May making it the seven-day custody, the maximum allowed by Martial Law. Then, he continued to be held in custody invoking the Emergency Decree. There is no indication when Mr. Muhammad-yaki Salae would be released.

The security officials claimed that Mr. Muhammad-yaki Salae was involved with a bomb attack in Koh Samui, Suratthani and they even held a press conference to tell the press of such allegation. The security agencies often invoke Martial Law to hold a person in custody for seven days and then invoke the Emergency Decree to extend the custody to maximum 30 days for extraction of information. Such arbitrary deprivation of liberty invoking special laws must be done when it is of utmost necessity and not to be used excessively.

The undersigned organizations demand that Mr. Muhammad-yaki Salae be released promptly and unconditionally. This will help to garner trust in the operation of the authorities. Every party concerned is willing to cooperate and collaborate in a creative manner. As for the bomb attack in Koh Samui, if the authorities have, through legal means, obtained any ground evidence against Mr. Muhammad-yaki Salae, then they should proceed to take action against him through due process of the law without the abuse of power.

Amidst the chronic conflicts and the enforcement of special laws, any action committed must help to build people’s trust in the justice process and peacemaking. Collaboration and an attempt to find solutions based on mutual respect of human dignity and human rights should be committed to by both the people and the state.

Signed by