23.05.09 Police charged over drug war
Source: Bangkok Post
DSI starts fresh probe of deaths of 21 other teens
The Department of Special Investigation's
decision to prosecute six police officers allegedly responsible for the
death of a teenager in Roi Et looks set to trigger a wave of complaints
against the Thaksin Shinawatra administration's war on drugs five years
ago.
The DSI is also stepping into a fresh investigation of the killing
of 21 young people in Kalasin, which many believe were extra-judicial
executions.
It has taken more than five years for the DSI to wrap up its
investigation into the death of 17-year-old Kiattisak Thitboonkrong,
who was found hanged from the ceiling of a hut in Roi Et's Chang Han
district in July 2004.
After collecting evidence and questioning more than 100 witnesses,
the DSI has decided to press charges of premeditated murder and
concealing the truth against three commissioned and three
non-commissioned officers attached to Muang Kalasin police station. Three police senior sergeants-major - Angkan Khammoonna, Sudthinant Nonthoeng and Pannasilp Uppanant - surrendered on May 20.
They denied all the charges filed against them and were released on bail by the Criminal Court.
The three commissioned officers are a colonel and two lieutenant
colonels. Their names have not been disclosed, but they will turn
themselves in to face charges in early June.
Pol Col Piyawat Kingkate, head of the DSI's special criminal cases,
said Kiattisak's murder was a clear human rights violation by state
officials.
According to Pol Col Piyawat, the Chang Han police station's report
to the National Anti-Corruption Commission argued that the case
involved abuse of authority.
The DSI contested the findings and asked the NACC to refer the case to the agency for investigation.
"It is not about abuse of authority. It is a criminal offence and
the suspects are liable to severe punishment," Pol Col Piyawat said.
The officer said there were several loose ends in Kiattisak's death,
not to mention an autopsy report which showed he was beaten unconscious
before he was found hanged.
The teenager, arrested on theft and drugs charges, had been bailed
out by a person who was not his relative and he never returned home.
He was found dead in Chang Han district, about 100km from his home in Kalasin province.
Pol Col Piyawat said the DSI would look into the mysterious deaths
of other teenagers in Kalasin after the Kiattisak case goes on trial.
At least 21 teenagers who were arrested on drugs and theft charges
died suspiciously at the height of the Thaksin government's war on
drugs from 2003 to 2005.
Kalasin was the first province to be declared drugs-free amid
widespread suspicion that the teenagers were victims of extra-judicial
executions.
"The families of eight victims have lodged complaints with the DSI.
Even though we have not treated this as a special case, we can base the
investigation on Kiattisak's case," said Pol Col Piyawat.
He said it was unusual that all 21 teenagers were found dead after
they had been bailed out and local police had not arrested any suspects.
Somchai Homlaor, president of the Campaign for Human Rights,
yesterday hailed the breakthrough in the Kiattisak case, saying it
should encourage the families of victims of the war on drugs to come
forward and demand justice.
Of the more than 2,500 deaths of people who were killed during the
nationwide drugs suppression campaign, only a few cases were properly
investigated, critics say.
State authorities claimed most of the killings were carried out by major drug dealers to silence small dealers.
Families said police pursued a campaign of street justice which trampled on people's rights.
Mr Somchai said that of 2,500 cases of suspected foul play,
relatives of 26 victims had lodged complaints with the National Human
Rights Commission, which investigated and found they were victims of
extra-judicial killings.
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