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CONCEPT NOTE

6TH ANNIVERSARY DISAPPEARANCE OF SOMCHAI NEELAPAIJIT

12 March 2010 Chula Nareumit House, Chulalongkorn University

Bangkok

Theme A short event on 12 March 2010 to commemorate the 6th anniversary of the enforced disappearance of prominent Thai human rights lawyer, Somchai Neelapaijit and to highlight the failure of Thai justice system in providing truth and reparation to the victims of the case, as well as to call for protection from any future enforced disappearance in Thailand. Background Somchai Neelapaijit has been missing since 12 March 2004, when he was last seen in Bangkok being forced into a car with a group of men. At the time of his disappearance, he was Chairman of the Muslim Lawyers Association and Vice-Chairman of the Human Rights Committee of the Law Society of Thailand, and was representing five Muslims accused of terrorism-related activities in Thailand’s southern border provinces. Although Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva announced the Government’s intention to ensure swift and meaningful progress in investigations and to bring to justice the perpetrators of Mr. Neelapaijit’s enforced disappearance, no substantial progress has been made in the case, which was accepted as a special case by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) since July 2005. Somchai Neelapaijit’s fate remains unknown and no one has been held accountable in final judgment for the crime of his enforced disappearance. Meanwhile, key witnesses to the case and their families have been subjected to intimidation and threats, and continue to worry on a daily about their safety. On 12 January 2006, the Criminal Court convicted a senior police officer of coercion and assault – but not of the enforced disappearance itself – and was sentenced to three years imprisonment despite evidence presented at trial indicating that a more serious crime has been committed. Pol. Maj. Ngern Thongsuk of the Crime Suppression Division was released on bail pending his appeal. It was subsequently

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reported in the Bangkok Post on 19 September 2008 that Pol. Maj. Ngern Thongsuk had gone missing in a flood. Following such reports, Angkhana Neelapaijit, wife of Somchai, requested the police to investigate the whereabouts of the officer’s body, which was never found. This has led to beliefs that Pol. Maj. Ngern Thongsuk has fled the country after having been released on bail pending appeal of the Criminal Court decision. In 2009, Angkhana Neelapaijit petitioned the Civil Court to declare her husband disappeared so that she could take control of his assets. The Civil Court took up the petition and declared Somchai Neelapaijit disappeared on 18 May 2009 as he had been missing for five years. In the four and a half years that DSI has accepted investigative responsibility of this case, there have only been attempts to unearth evidence from the Maeklong River in Ratchaburi province. To date, four 200-litre-drums that are believed to have been used for destroying the body of Somchai have been excavated. Some human bone fragments have also been uncovered, but they were found to not match the DNA of Somchai Neelapaijit after forensic testing. More recently, one of the key witnesses – Mr. Abdulah Abukaree – in the criminal case relating to Somchai Neelapaijit’s enforced disappearance, disappeared on 11 December 2009 whilst under the DSI witness protection scheme. The presumption that a witness to an enforced disappearance has himself been forcibly disappeared has further shaken people’s trust and confidence in the efficacy of the justice system to hold perpetrators of crimes liable will be gravely eroded. The event commemorating the 6th anniversary of Somchai Neelapaijit’s enforced disappearance will (i) highlight the failed pursuit of truth and justice, and the weaknesses of witness protection in this particular case; (ii) underscore the serious nature of enforced disappearances in Thailand; and (iii) represent public and high-profile efforts at seeking justice for an emblematic case in the fight against impunity in Thailand. Structure See Annex attached. Materials A summary report by the Working Group on Justice for Peace on the continued pursuit of truth and justice relating to Somchai Neelapaijit’s enforced disappearance will be launched, and the English and Thai versions of the International Commission of Jurists’ trial observation report on the criminal trial and investigation of the case will be made available.

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ANNEX

ART EXHIBITION ON THE DISAPPEARED AND THEIR FAMILIES

Chula Nareumit House, Chulalongkorn University

** Draft Programme **

09:30 – 10:00

Registration

10:00 – 10:10 Opening Remarks

H.E. Filipe Frydman Ambassador of the Argentine Republic to Thailand

10:10 – 11:10 Statements

Assist. Prof. Dr. Chaiwat Satha-Anan Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University

Ms. Angkhana Neelapaijit Chairperson, Working Group on Justice for Peace

Mr. Wilder Tayler Secretary-General, International Commission of Jurists

Questions & Answers

11:10 – 11:20 The Somchai Neelapaijit Memorial Fund

Mr. Jon Ungpakorn**

11:20 – 11:30 Closing Remarks

Prof. Amara Pongsapich Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission**

* Simultaneous translation will be provided. ** Names in italics indicate speakers who have yet to confirm their participation.