The Narathiwat Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for six defendants in the 2004 Tak Bai massacre case after they failed to appear for questioning on Thursday.
Seven defendants were due to appear in court for witness questioning and evidence examination but none showed up.
A summons has been issued for the seventh defendant, former Army Region 4 commander Gen Pisal Wattanawongkiri. He is currently protected under immunity as a Pheu Thai Party list-MP.
After struggling for years to bring a case to court, human rights activists are concerned that further delays could lead to the case being thrown out. The 20-year statute of limitations in the case expires on Oct 25.
Those implicated in the case are accused of murder and unlawful detention for mishandling a 2004 demonstration in the Tak Bai in the southern province of Narathiwat. Seven protesters were killed by gunfire and 78 more were crushed or suffocated to death while piled on top each other in army trucks.
Then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra apologised for the massacre but stopped short of accepting responsibility. No one has ever been prosecuted over the deaths.
The lawsuit, launched by the families of 48 of the victims, was accepted by the court in August.
“If the accused don’t show up at the next hearing, the court will likely have more measures so the justice process can continue,” said Rassada Manurassada, one of the lawyers for the victims’ families.
The crackdown in Tak Bai occurred when the area was under martial law and was one of the deadliest incidents during a separatist insurgency that flared anew that same year and has since killed more than 7,600 people.
Arrest warrants have been issued for the following: Maj Gen Chaloemchai Wirunpetch, a former 5th Infantry Division commander; Pol Gen Wongkot Maneejan, a former director of the operations centre of the Royal Thai Police front office; Pol Lt Gen Manoj Kraiwong, a former chief of Provincial Police Region 9; Pol Maj Gen Saksommai Phutthakul, a former superintendent of the Tak Bai police station; Siwa Saengmanee, a former deputy director of the Southern Border Provinces Peace Centre; and Wichom Thongsong, a former Narathiwat governor.
According to U-seng Dolah, a lawyer of the Muslim Attorney Centre Foundation, the defendants were allowed to send their lawyers to the court to request a postponement of their appearance until the statute of limitations expires.
However, because no one showed up, the court issued the warrants and demanded they be arrested before the case expires, to keep the juridical process moving forward.
House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha said he had not received the court petition for Gen Pisal, who is expected to stand trial in the Narathiwat Criminal Court on Oct 15.
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