Lawyers representing victims of the Tak Bai massacre are hopeful the provincial court will accept the case for trial, with the decision now scheduled for late August and the statute of limitations in the case soon to expire.
Lawyer Pornpen Khongkachonkiet of the Cross Cultural Foundation said on Monday she believed the latest move by the petitioners would "ensure the judicial system gives the case its attention".
She was speaking after an online forum streamed on the Muslim Attorney Centre Foundation Facebook account on Sunday.
The forum followed the Narathiwat Provincial Court's announcement setting Aug 23 for its decision whether to accept the case for trial. The date was set after the hearing for the initial inquiry process was completed on Friday last week.
The two foundations are the key organisations helping 48 people sue nine senior officials they blame for the deaths of 85 protesters who rallied outside Tak Bai police station in Tak Bai district of Narathiwat on Oct 25, 2004.
About 1,300 agitated people gathered in a protest after police arrested six defence volunteers. Six demonstrators were killed as security authorities shut down the protest, while 78 others were crushed to death or suffocated after being arrested and stacked like logs on top of each other in the back of army trucks and taken to Ingkhayutthaborihan camp in Pattani. Another died in hospital.
Ratsada Manooratsada of the Lawyers Council of Thailand, who became involved only days after the tragedy, was also hopeful the court would accept the case, having now heard from the villagers and the nine accused officials.
"I am confident the Thai court will give all parties justice," he said during Sunday's forum. "The truth must be told."
He commended the 48 villagers for standing up to and taking action against the authorities responsible for the tragic deaths. In the lawsuit, they accuse the authorities of murder, unlawful detention and misconduct.
The names of the nine officials have not been officially disclosed. However, the Muslim Attorney Centre Foundation has said the names are in the government's own fact-finding report.
Then 4th Army Region Commander Lt Gen Pisan Wattanawongkiri and then 5th Infantry Division Commander Maj Gen Chalermchai Wirunpeth were among the senior officials mentioned in the report.
Abdulqahhar Arwaeputeh of the Muslim Attorney Centre Foundation said the villagers have the right to appeal if the court on Aug 23 decides not to accept the case for trial.
The statute of limitations in the Tak Bai carnage case expires on Oct 25 this year, 20 years after the tragedy. That means no legal action relating to the massacre can be taken after that day.