A Supreme Court ruling against a man charged in connection with the southern violence has provoked insurgent prisoners in Pattani to petition against the justice system.
Convicted insurgents in Pattani are likely to be joined by convicts in Yala and Narathiwat (above) prisons in protesting convictions based on the words of other southern militants. (File photo)
More than 100 prisoners at Pattani prison have signed a petition calling on the government to accept the Barisan Revolusi Nasional's (BRN) demand for the release of all prisoners detained for alleged roles in insurgent violence.
A defence lawyer said the prisoners' unprecedented move was spurred by their lack of trust in the justice system.
Defence lawyers reviewed the petition and submitted it to the Pattani prison commander.
It will be sent to the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre (SBPAC) and then to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
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The prisoners are on edge after the Supreme Court on May 1 handed Muhammad-anwar Hayeetae a 12-year jail sentence for involvement in the insurgency, said the lawyer, who requested anonymity.
Muhammad-anwar is among 11 people who were arrested following the beheading of Pol Snr Sgt Maj Sampan Onyala on July 5, 2005, in Pattani.
The suspects were indicted on a number of charges in connection with the southern insurgency, but none were found to be involved in the murder of the policeman. In July 2007, the Criminal Court found Muhammad-anwar and eight defendants guilty and sentenced them each to 12 years in prison. The other two suspects were acquitted.
Two years later in June 2009, the Appeal Court cleared Muhammad-anwar and another defendant of the charges. However, earlier this month the Supreme Court overturned the acquittal and reimposed the jail term for Muhammad-anwar.
The Supreme Court's ruling has upset the prisoners mainly because it was based on the statement of another group of suspects, the lawyer said.
Those suspects, who testified as witnesses for the police, had implicated Muhammad-anwar as a member of BRN, he said. Muhammad-anwar was then charged, prosecuted and sentenced to prison without any evidence that linked him to any crimes.
So far only prisoners in Pattani have signed the petition, he said. Prisoners held on charges related to the insurgency at other prisons in the far South are expected to follow suit.
"The petition will alert the prime minister and other authorities to the case and lead them take action before it is too late," the lawyer said.
Muslim Attorney Centre Foundation president Anukul Ahwaeputeh said local authorities are using plea agreements with insurgent suspects to seek justice in the far South.
Some suspects are being persuaded to testify against each other for the state, he said.
This strategy will expose innocent people to the risk of being wrongfully prosecuted, just as it did in the case of Muhammad-anwar, Mr Anukul said.
"This strategy is dangerous and innocent people could end up in jail. In Muhammad-anwar's case, he was implicated by a suspect-cum-witness and was found guilty based on that," he said.
According to Mr Anukul, Muhammad-anwar was never implicated as a perpetrator in the killing of Pol Snr Sgt Maj Sampan. "So it is like you are guilty because you think differently from the state even though you never committed a crime," he said.
Muhammad-anwar's wife, Rormuela Saeyaeh, said her husband was a believer in the justice system.
He never fled, and he refused an offer to plead guilty in exchange for testifying for the state, she said.
Muhammad-anwar is currently being held in Pattani central prison.