Somchai Neelapaijit Memorial Fund award recipients announced

Somchai Neelapaijit Memorial Fund award recipients announced

Human rights legacy: A visitor looks at a photo of human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit at an exhibition at the Pridi Banomyong Institute.
Human rights legacy: A visitor looks at a photo of human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit at an exhibition at the Pridi Banomyong Institute.

Pawinee Chumsri, a lawyer with the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, has won the outstanding human rights award given by the Somchai Neelapaijit Memorial Fund.

The award was announced on Saturday along with three other prestigious human rights awards to mark the 13th anniversary of the disappearance of human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit.

Ms Pawinee won the Somchai Neelapaijit Award as a lawyer who has dedicated her legal career to the fight for human rights in the restive southern border provinces as well as cases involving politics after the 2014 coup.

The three other awards went to the Khon Rak Ban Koed Group (KRBKG), established by anti-gold mining villagers in Loei province; 14 Myanmar workers who filed a lawsuit against a chicken processing operator in Lop Buri; and student activist Jatupat Boonpattararaksa, known as "Pai Dao Din".

Jon Ungpakorn, a panel member, said Ms Pawinee has played a pivotal role in several cases associated with human rights in the three restive southern provinces since 2007. She also had experiences in dealing with many enforced disappearance cases as well as other lawsuits after the coup.

As for the KRBKG, it was set up in 2006 by villagers in Loei's Wang Saphung district who campaigned against gold mining which damaged the environment and the health of residents.

Even though gold mine licences expired on Jan 1 and an order issued under Section 44 of the interim charter will ban gold mining operations in the country, the network remains active as private operators have persisted in continuing their businesses.

For the 14 Myanmar workers, they have stood for their rights by filing a lawsuit against their former employer, demanding 44 million baht in compensation. The workers accused their employer of violating their labour rights by ordering them to work more than eight hours per day and failing to pay wages in accordance with labour laws.

Mr Jatupat was given the award as he was interested in political issues and provided assistance to local villagers in the Northeast after the coup. He is now being detained in a Khon Kaen prison on charges of lese majeste and computer crimes.

The Somchai Neelapaijit Memorial Fund was established after Mr Somchai went missing in 2014 while representing five southern Muslim insurgents who claimed they had been tortured by police.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT