On June 25, 2024, at 9:00 a.m., the Narathiwat Provincial Court held the second day of the preliminary hearing for the Tak Bai criminal case. The court subsequently adjourned the hearing to July 19 and July 26, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. This postponement was due to the Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice of the Court of Justice, Region IX, noting that some state officials accused were unaware of the new hearing date on June 25, 2024.
Originally, the court scheduled the hearing consecutively with the session on June 24, 2024, to continue with the testimonies of the remaining two witnesses out of the three presented by the plaintiffs. The first witness, who testified on the afternoon of June 24, 2024, was a lawyer from the Lawyer Council who has been providing legal assistance to the Tak Bai victims since the civil lawsuit in 2005. The other two witnesses are survivors and families of the deceased from the Tak Bai incident.
Additionally, objections were raised by the plaintiffs, victims’ relatives, and their lawyers, which were documented in the court’s memorandum. The plaintiffs’ lawyers protested that the court had already subpoenaed the accused within a reasonable period. However, four of the accused failed to appoint lawyers or protect their own rights, leading to their unawareness of the additional hearing. The plaintiffs’ lawyers criticized some of the accused for neglecting their rights and responsibilities. Furthermore, the witnesses, who are victims and their families, faced significant difficulties traveling to court and have endured a long wait for justice.
Seven plaintiffs and victims’ relatives made powerful objection statements during the hearing. Below are some of their statements:
A victim’s relative, who lost his brother in the Tak Bai incident, stated: “We oppose postponing the trial. People arrive at the court every time with difficulty, and it costs so much. I kept thinking about the cause of my brother’s death. The officials used excessive force. During the crackdown, people were treated as if they were not human, forced to lie on top of each other for 4-5 stories for 6 hours. What struck me the most was that the death was caused by suffocation. The compensation from the state was insufficient to compensate for my brother’s loss of life. Tak Bai is the state’s most painful lesson. It is the worst in history. I want the criminals brought to justice.”
A survivor raised an objection to the court, stating: “It seems like the occurrence happened quite recently. If there is a violent incident anywhere, I do not want officials to arrest anyone without evidence. I do not want officials to make assumptions like in the Tak Bai case. I was in the Tak Bai incident. Shot from behind, through to the front. My body is covered in huge scars.” (The plaintiff lifted his shirt to show the scar in the hearing room.) “It was a piercing hole to drain blood.”
These statements underscore the gravity of the situation and the enduring pain and hardship faced by the victims and their families.
In this Tak Bai case, among 48 plaintiffs, numbered 1-34 consist of two individuals who were fatally shot in front of the Tak Bai police station, one individual who died at the hospital, resulting in a total of three deaths, and 31 individuals who died during the deadly transportation. The injured persons are identified as plaintiffs numbered 35-48. The lawsuit has been filed against nine government officials who are former Director of the 4th Army Area Commander at that time, former Deputy Director of the 4th Army Area Commander at that time, former Commander of the 5th Infantry Division at that time, former Director of the Command Center, Royal Thai Police Forward Post, former Commissioner of Provincial Police Region 9, former Superintendent of Tak Bai Police Station at that time, former Deputy Superintendent of Tak Bai Police Station at that time, former Deputy Director of the Division of Southern Border Provinces Peace Building and was the Deputy Permanent Secretary for Interior at that time, and the Governor of Narathiwat Province at the time of the incident. The complaint was filed under the Criminal Code and alleged murder and other charges.
The Cross Cultural Foundation and the Muslin Attorney Center would like to invite the media and the public to closely monitor the progress of this lawsuit to ensure that after 20 years of injustice the victims and their families receive justice and appropriate reparation. The Tak Bai lawsuit is an attempt of the survivors, families of the deceased, local lawyers, together with the local community to address and end this decades-long impunity; effort on truth-seeking will be an initial step toward reparation and justice. The Tak Bai massacre has a significant impact on the conflicts in the southern border provinces that have persisted for more than 20 years, and this criminal prosecution will be of great importance in the direction of the peace process in the southern border provinces.
