Former red-shirt bosses want death probes sped up

Former red-shirt leaders on Monday called on national police chief Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas to speed up investigations into the deaths of red-shirt protesters during their 2010 clashes with the military.

Tida Thavornseth and Weng Tojirakarn, key figures of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, submitted a letter to Pol Gen Damrongsak demanding progress into the probes into the deaths of another 62 victims of political violence.

According to Ms Tida, a total of 99 people, most of them civilians, were killed during the clashes in 2010 and scores of others injured. Of those who died, only 37 cases were heard and ruled on by the court.

Nearly 13 years on, families and relatives of the remaining victims were still waiting for the truth and justice, she said. Since the 2014 coup efforts to discover the truth had stalled.

Ms Tida called on the national police chief to speed up the probes into the remaining cases so that they can be forwarded to the prosecution and then to the Criminal Court for an inquest.

"We're asking the police chief to instruct local police to wrap up the investigations so the inquest can proceed. And we're asking police to report on the progress," she said.

Among the cases ruled on by the court were the six deaths at Wat Pathum Wanaram in Bangkok's Pathumwan district on May 19, 2010, and the two deaths near Satree Withaya School on Din So Road on April 10, 2010.

In the 2013 rulings, the Bangkok South Criminal Court said the victims were shot by soldiers, but it was not known who fired the shots.