Release on bail of Mr. Thammarat Aliartae

Newinformation

THA002 / 0912 / OBS 084.1

Release/

Thailand

September28, 2012

TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme ofthe International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World OrganisationAgainst Torture (OMCT), has received new information and requests your urgentintervention in the following situation inThailand.

Newinformation:

TheObservatory has been informed by reliable sources of the release on bail of Mr.Thammarat Aliartae, a Malayu Thai human rights defender in Yala provincein southern Thailand.

Accordingto the information received, on September 24, 2012, the Court of LowerInstances decided the release on bail of Mr. Thammarat Aliartae after four daysof detention at a Taskforce 11 military base. He had been detained under the1914 Martial Law Act[1]..

Duringthe questioning, the officials only mentioned that they had new DNA evidenceagainst him related to a bomb attack that took place on August 30, 2007, inrelation to which charges against him remain pending following his release onbail in 2010 (see background information).

Duringthe interrogation, Mr. Aliartae was reportedly asked to point out the personshe knew on pictures that were showed to him, and was further required to sign areport of his testimony that differed from his statements.

TheObservatory welcomes the release on bail of Mr. Thammarat Aliartae and thanksall the persons, institutions and organisations who intervened in his favour.However, as his judicial harassment continues, the Observatory remains deeplyconcerned about future developments regarding this case.

Consequently,, theObservatory calls upon the authorities of Thailand to put an end to thecontinuing judicial harassment of Mr. Thammarat Aliartae as well as of allhuman rights defenders in the country, as it is arbitrary and seems to merely aim at sanctioning his legitimatehuman rights activities.

Background information:

OnSeptember 20, 2012, at approximately 7.00pm, soldiers from Yala Task Force 11,a special unit of the Thai army, arrested Mr. Aliartae near his house at theOld Market in Yala town. He was detained in a military base operated by YalaTask Force 11 in Muang district in Yala[O1] and was denied access to his lawyer from his arrest until approximately9.00am on September 21, when his lawyer finally gained access to him. TaskForce 11 reportedly did not inform Mr. Aliartae or his lawyer of the reason forhis arrest.

Fivedays before his arrest, on September 15, 2012, Mr. Aliartae, along with currentand former defendants in security-related cases and their families, submittedcomplaint letters to and met with officials from the Southern Border ProvinceAdministrative Center (SBPAC). At this meeting, Mr. Aliartae requested Pol.Col. Tawee Sodsong, the Director General of SBPAC, to ensure people’s equalaccess to justice. He also asked SBPAC to provide protection to defendantsreleased on bail or those already acquitted by the court in security-relatedcases because these persons had been harassed, intimidated and sometimessubjected to physical violence by security forces and unidentified persons.After the SBPAC meeting, Mr. Aliartae gave interviews to Thai-language mediaand his comments were published online.

Themeeting followed three recent fatal shootings of current or former defendantsin security-related cases in the southern border provinces. The incidentoccurred on July 26, 2012, when Mr. Abduloh Jaetimae was shot dead byunidentified gunmen in Tambon Yaha, Yala province. Mr. Jaetimae had beenarrested and prosecuted in 2006 for his alleged involvement in planting a bombin a bank; after spending three years in detention pending the outcome of histrial, he was acquitted and released in 2010.

Mr.Aliartae is a schoolteacher in Yala town, Yala province. In 2007, Mr. Aliartae,then a university student, was arrested along with six others under the specialsecurity laws and accused of being involved in a bombing in Yala. He reportedhaving been ill treated while in detention. He was later released on bail in2010, but his trial has not been concluded and the charges against him stillstand. Mr. Aliartae has since been advocating for the rights of personsaffected by the implementation of special security laws (the Martial Law, theEmergency Decree, and the Internal Security Act), and by abuses perpetrated byState security forces in the southern border provinces.

Actions requested:

Please write to the Thaiauthorities and ask them to:

i. Put an end to all acts of harassment,including at the judicial level, against Mr.Thammarat Aliartae, as well as against all other human rights defenders in thecountry;

ii. Guaranteein all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Aliartaeand of all human rightsdefenders and their organisations in Thailand;

iii. Conform with the provisions of theDeclaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted on December 9, 1998 by theUnited Nations General Assembly, and in particular :

- Article1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually or in associationwith others, to promote the protection and realization of human rights andfundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”,

- and Article 12.2 which provides that “the Stateshall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competentauthorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, againstany violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination,pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or herlegitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”.

iv. Ensure in allcircumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordancewith international human rights standards and international instrumentsratified by Thailand.

Addresses:

· Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra,Prime Minister of Thailand, c/o Government House, Pitsanulok Road, DusitDistrict, Bangkok 10300, THAILAND, Fax: +66 2 280 0858 / +66 2 288 4016, Email:opm@opm.go.th

· Mr. Yongyuth Wichaidit,Minister of Interior, Office of the Ministry of Interior, Atsadang Road,Ratchabophit Pranakorn, Bangkok 10200, THAILAND, Fax: +66 2 226 4371/ 222 8866,Tel: +66 2 224 6320/ 6341, E-mail: om@moi.go.th

· Pol Gen Pracha Promnok,Minister of Justice, Office of the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of JusticeBuilding, 22nd Floor Software Park Building, Chaeng Wattana Road, PakkredNonthaburi 11120, THAILAND, Fax: +662 502 6699/ 6734 / 6884, Tel: +662 5026776/8223, E-mail: om@moj.go.th

· Mr. SurapongTowijakchaikul, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Office of the Minister of ForeignAffair, 443 Sri Ayudhya Road, Bangkok 10400, THAILAND, Fax: +662 643 5318, Tel:+662 643 5333, E-mail: om@mof.go.th,minister@mfa.go.th,permsec@mfa.go.th

· National Human RightsCommission of Thailand, 422 Phya Thai Road, Panthum Wan District, Bangkok10300, THAILAND, Fax: +622 219 2940

· Attorney General, Officeof the Attorney General, Lukmuang Building, Nahuppei Road, Prabraromrachawang,Pranakorn, Bangkok 10200, THAILAND, Fax: +662 224 0162 / 1448 / 221 0858,Email: ag@ago.go.th,oag@ago.go.th

· Permanent Mission ofThailand to the United Nations in Geneva, rue Gustave Moynier 5, 1202 Geneva,Switzerland, Tel: + 41 22 715 10 10; Fax: + 41 22 715 10 00 / 10 02; Email: mission.thailand@ties.itu.int

· Embassy of Thailand inBrussels, 2 Sq. du Val de la Cambre, 1050 Ixelles, Belgium, Tel: + 32 2640.68.10; Fax : + 32 2 .648.30.66. Email: thaibxl@pophost.eunet.be

Pleasealso write to the diplomatic representations of Thailand in your respectivecountries.

***

Paris-Geneva,September 28, 2012

Kindlyinform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

TheObservatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of HumanRights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.

Tocontact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

· Email: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

· Tel and fax FIDH: +33(0) 1 43 55 25 18 / 01 43 55 18 80

· Tel and fax OMCT: +41 22 809 49 39 / 41 22 809 49 29

[1] Under the 1914Martial Law Act, a person can be detained without a warrant for interrogationpurposes up to seven days, without judicial review.

[O1]Thisrepeats what is said in the first section.