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No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.
67. As the State party has noted in its report, article 31 of the 1997 Constitution prohibits torture, in accordance with article 7 of the Covenant (para. 184). However, there is no domestic law to prohibit torture in Thailand. Nor are there provisions in the Penal Code that would effect the same. Nor has the State party as yet ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Nor does any specialised agency exist to address the widespread practice of torture in Thailand in any way, shape or form. Nor does any domestic campaign exist to give effect to the same; in fact, where human rights defenders or other citizens attempt to bring cases of torture to the public attention they may be subjected to very serious threats. Nor do the provisions outlined by the State party in its report that purportedly prevent the practice of torture have any real effect.
68. Torture is routinely practiced by the police in Thailand. Reports also exist of the practice occurring to a lesser extent among the armed forces. However, the Asian Legal Resource Centre has obtained the largest amount of information on the practice of torture in Thailand with reference to the police.
69. Among the police, torture is practiced both in cases of alleged security threats, and in ordinary criminal cases. Some examples follow.
70. On 26 July 2004, the ALRC communicated the details of a grave torture case to the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture.[6] That letter, with full details of the case, is contained as Annexe 10. The five victims, Makata Harong (49), Sukri Maming (37), Manase Mama (25), Sudirueman Malae (23), and Abdullah Abukaree (20) were arrested and allegedly tortured in connection with a raid on an army camp by officers of Tanyong subdistrict provincial police station, Narathiwat province. After arresting the men on February 23, the police approached the court to continue keeping them in custody. On March 4, the lawyer for the men, Somchai Neelaphaijit, sought a court order that they be taken for physical examination, alleging that they had been tortured. His submission included the following remarks:
：The 4th Suspect was blindfolded by police officer(s) and physically assaulted; strangled and choked, hand-tied behind his back and beaten with pieces of wood on the back and head, suffering some head wounds. In addition, he was also hanged from the toilet door with a piece of rope and was then electrocuted with a piece of fork charged with electrical currents, on the back of his torso and right shoulder.?
71. Frustrated by his inability to get a judicial response to his applications, Somchai went to government authorities in Bangkok on March 11. The following day he himself was forcibly disappeared.
72.On May 18 the Criminal Court released the five men after the 84-day statutory limit on detention expired without charges being laid. However, the police immediately rearrested four of them on new charges. To date, none of the alleged perpetrators have been held to account for their actions. Attempts by a senate subcommittee investigating the case to identify officers through photographs reportedly were blocked by police refusing to assist. A member of the National Human Rights Commission also is reported to have stated that the men were ：severely tortured by the police but the court did not ask for any detailed information on that torture nor send them to receive any medical treatment?
73. On 12 November 2004, the Asian Human Rights Commission wrote to the Minister of Justice concerning two very grave cases of torture and cruel and inhuman treatment committed by the police.[7] The letter is contained as Annexe 7. Both incidents related to allegations over ordinary criminal cases:
i. Mr Chol Narapinit (28), and his wife Ms Siri-on Changluadlai (17), alleged that the police assaulted them and stole a gold necklace from their possession after accusing them of theft; Ms Siri-on was pregnant at the time. They were then kept in detention at Lumpini police station in Bangkok for 102 days without charge, before finally being released by a court. This period exceeded the statutory limit by 18 days. During this time Ms Siri-on gave birth to a child, but obtained no assistance from the police officers in the station. Her relatives came and took the child from her after five days. It is also alleged that the officer in charge of the case, Police Major Kriangsak, recorded her age as 19 to avoid having to treat her as a juvenile detainee under the Child Protection Act 2546 (2003), established to comply with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Disciplinary action was taken against some officers, however no criminal charges are known to have been laid, despite early reported remarks by the Minister of Justice that these would follow. Meanwhile, the police acted quickly to issue new charges against the couple and have them rearrested.
ii. Mr Ekkawat Srimanta (21) was brutally tortured by officers attached to two police stations in Ayutthaya province on accusation of robbery during the first week of November 2004. Officers at Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya station are alleged to have covered his head with a hood and beaten him all over his body. Then they transferred him to Uthai police station, where officers electrocuted him, causing severe burns all over his testicles, penis, groin, and toes. He also suffered severe injuries from beating, including on his back, thighs, cheeks, face, throat and eyes. Again, internal disciplinary action was taken against the accused officers, but there have been no reports of criminal proceedings. This is despite initial statements by senior officials that judicial action would follow, and enquiries having been taken up by the Department of Special Investigation under the Ministry of Justice.
74. Subsequent to these two cases, the ALRC heard reports of further complaints of torture at the Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya station. It then uncovered two further credible cases of alleged torture by police there involving six victims:
i. Mr Metta Saiphan (24) and Mr Anucha Siriporn na Ratchasima (28), who were both arrested on 31 March 2004, allege that they were also tortured by officers of the Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya police station.[8] The types of torture allegedly used included suffocation with layers of plastic bags, beating on the body, using pepper spray, and standing on the chest. The men were told that if they did not confess to charges of theft, they would have another nine charges added against them. After this time, they confessed. It is also alleged that the police did not place them in a line-up for identification by the complainant. The two men subsequently retracted their confessions; however, they were sentenced to imprisonment in December 2004. Although in the latter stages of trial a lawyer for the men argued that they had been tortured, the court rejected the argument due to lack of evidence. The letter on this case to the Minister of Justice is contained as Annexe 11.
ii. Mr Anek Yingnuek (24) was arrested on 9 September 2004 on a charge of robbery and also allegedly tortured at the Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya police station.[9] The types of torture included being beaten with PVC pipe, suffocation with plastic bags, and electrocution, including on his penis and testicles through a bag of ice. Anek states that due to the unbearable torture, he gave the names of three friends, Mr Sukit Rachamontri (23), Mr Kampon Kongwiset (19), and Mr Pirom Kruesorn (21) as accomplices. After the three were arrested on the afternoon of September 10 they were also allegedly tortured. Mr Sukit・s girlfriend states that the police threw a bottle at Sukit・s face before beating, kicking and slapping the men. She also heard loud screams coming from the room where the men were held, before being brought out showing signs of torture. It is alleged that they were constantly tortured until 1am on September 11. The four have now been charged with gang robbery, and are being held in remand awaiting trial. Reference to the case is given in the letter to the Ombudsman contained in Annexe 2.
75. Extremely brutal types of torture are practiced but suppressed. Of particular concern in these cases is that the types of torture went far beyond the day-to-day beatings and conventional roughing-up tactics that persons in Thailand usually associate with the police. The practices of inflicting wounds and electric shocks on sensitive parts of the body suggest the work of seasoned professional torturers. This fact speaks to a concern that the Asian Legal Resource Centre has repeatedly expressed, that torture is widespread among state security agencies in Thailand: however, up until recently it was not publicly discussed. There is no domestic organisation campaigning against torture in the country. Lawyers, journalists and other concerned professionals there have for many years known about torture, but have shied away out of fear. The addendum to the 2004 report of the Special Rapporteur to the Commission speaks to this point, remarkably listing a mere three cases of torture in Thailand, all involving non-Thai nationals [E/CN.4/2004/56/Add.1, paras 1678?1]. This situation is now slowly changing; however, many more opportunities need to be made to open discussion on the practice in Thailand.
76. Torture is deeply institutionalised. Although the Asian Legal Resource Centre and its sister organisation have repeatedly raised these cases with the Minister of Justice, other relevant national authorities and international mechanisms, its is unaware of any subsequent enquiries or action. This is despite particular efforts to point out to the Minister of Justice that one of the accused police officers is suspected of being a mentally unstable serial torturer, responsible in part for the institutionalised torture at the Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya police station. Annexe 12 contains a letter of 24 November 2004 sent to the Minister of Justice on these specific points.[10] And the institutional element can be identified in each of the above-mentioned cases. That a young woman could be left to give birth in a police cell, for instance, speaks to a deep institutional tolerance of gross human rights abuse that goes from the arresting officers and those alleged to have assaulted the victims to their commanders, and their superiors.
77. Torture is approved by senior officers. It has been the experience of the Asian Legal Resource Centre in its extensive work on the practice of torture in Asia that it always occurs with either tacit or overt approval, and perhaps coordination, of persons high in the chain of command. In Thailand it is a widely shared opinion that torture is necessary to deal with ．bad?people. This sentiment is not only felt among the top ranks, but also openly expressed. After some of the above-mentioned cases came to light in 2004, Police Lieutenant-General Amarin Niamsakul, Commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, said in a prime-time national television interview that as police all around the world commit torture, it is reasonable that police in Thailand do so too. He added that torture was necessary to extract confessions, and that ．bad people need bad treatment? Although the Minister of Justice spoke publicly against his remarks, no disciplinary action was taken against Pol. Lt-General Amarin. This is despite the fact that his comments, while holding a senior government office, contradict and affront both the 1997 Constitution and the Covenant. The ALRC has since on a number of occasions called upon the government of Thailand to remove Pol. Lt-General Amarin from office. The consequence of the government・s inaction, as in other cases of gross rights abuse in Thailand, is to offer an implicit endorsement of the remarks, and encouragement for other officials to continue to speak and think likewise. As a consequence, it can be expected that the use of torture as an acceptable method for interrogation will persist and expand.
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[6] AHRC Urgent Appeal UA-94-2004: THAILAND: Severe torture victims still in custody while police torturers remain in posts, 26 July 2004.
[7] AHRC Urgent Appeal UA-153-2004: THAILAND: Two cases of extremely serious torture and cruel and inhuman treatment by Thai police officers, 9 November 2004; Urgent Update UP-78-2004: THAILAND: Torture cases transferred to special investigators, but police still free, 2 December 2004.
[8] AHRC Urgent Appeal UA-170-2004: THAILAND: Another case of torture to obtain confession at Ayutthaya Police Station, 10 December 2004.
[9] AHRC Urgent Update UP-04-2005: THAILAND: Repeated torture at Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Police Station, 12 January 2005; and, UP-10-2005: THAILAND: Updated information on the torture of the four men by the Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya police, 3 February 2005.
[10] AHRC Urgent Update UP-75-2004: THAILAND: Demand immediate criminal action against police torturers, 24 November 2004.
Posted on 2005-03-22
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