Today (September 12, 2024), at 9:00 a.m., the Narathiwat Provincial Court has scheduled an appointment to examine the testimonies of seven defendants in the Tak Bai criminal case. The hearing was intended to examine evidence and schedule witness hearings. However, by 10:30 a.m., none of the seven defendants had appeared before the court. As a result, the court issued arrest warrants for Defendants 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9, and sent an urgent request to the House of Representatives for permission to summon Defendant 1, a Pheu Thai MP, to appear at the next hearing on October 15, 2024.
The case, registered as Criminal Case No. A.578/2024, is brought by 48 plaintiffs—the families of the deceased and those injured during the Tak Bai incident, against 9 state officials involved in the dispersal of the protest in front of Tak Bai Police Station on October 25, 2004, which led to numerous injuries and deaths.
Despite being notified prior, none of the seven defendants appeared in court. The public prosecutor representing the Defendant 8 and 9 informed the court that he had not been in contact with Defendants 8 and 9 since the court previously ruled there was sufficient ground for the case. Lawyers representing other defendants also reported no communication with their clients following the court’s last order.
The court determined that the defendants had been properly informed of the hearing and had neither provided reasons for their absence nor sought permission to postpone the case. Citing concerns about potential escape, the court issued arrest warrants for Defendants 3-6, 8, and 9, with the aim of bringing them before the court before the 20-year statute of limitations expires on October 25, 2024.
As Defendant 1 is a sitting member of the House of Representatives, the court cannot issue an arrest warrant under MPs procedural immunity, per Section 125 of the Thai Constitution B.E. 2560. Consequently, the court sent a formal urgent request to the President of the House of Representatives, seeking permission to arrest Defendant 1 and summoning him to the next court session. The court also invited Defendant 1 to waive his parliamentary immunity and appear before the court at the next hearing.
The next session has been scheduled for October 15, 2024, at 9:00 a.m., during which the court will follow up on the arrest of Defendants 3-6, 8, and 9 and the outcome of the request to the House of Representatives regarding Defendant 1.
Defendants 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9 face charges under the Criminal Code for jointly committing offenses, including murder, attempted murder, and unlawful detention according to Section 288, 83, Section 288, 80, 83, and Section 310 paragraph two in conjunction with Section 290, 83 of the Thai Criminal Code These individuals are: Defendant 1, former Director of the 4th Army Area Commander at that time; Defendant 3, former Commander of the 5th Infantry Division at that time; Defendant 4, former Director of the Command Center, Royal Thai Police Forward Post; Defendant 5, former Commissioner of Provincial Police Region 9; Defendant 6, former Superintendent of Tak Bai Police Station at that time; Defendant 8, former Deputy Director of the Division of Southern Border Provinces Peace Building and was the Deputy Permanent Secretary for Interior at that time; Defendant 9 former Governor of Narathiwat Province at the time of the incident.
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. The Cross Cultural Foundation would like to invite the media and the public to closely follow the proceedings on October 15, 2024, at 9.00 a.m. This is a crucial step to ensure that the truth is uncovered, the perpetrators are held accountable, and justice is served for the victims and families of the deceased. It is also essential that this criminal prosecution becomes a historical lesson for the Thai state, preventing future occurrences of such serious human rights violations.
*This lawsuit is a collaboration between The Cross Cultural Foundation, the Muslin Attorney Center, and the Southern Border Provinces Legal Reconciliation Center, Lawyers Council
