[Tlc] AIUSA Urgent Appeal for Protection of Angkhana Neelaphaijit

[tyrell haberkorn]

Dear TLC,
Please find the most recent Urgent Action request from Amnesty
International regarding the safety of Angkhana Neelaphaijit.
Very best wishes,
Tyrell Haberkorn

URGENT ACTION APPEAL
>- From Amnesty International USA
>
>To read the current Urgent Action newsletter, go to
>http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/newslett.html
>----------------------------------
>For a print-friendly version of this Urgent Action (PDF):
>http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa05408.pdf
>
>27 February 2008
>
>UA 54/08    Fear for safety
>
>THAILAND    Angkhana Neelaphaijit (f)
>
>Amnesty International is gravely concerned for the safety of
>Angkhana Neelaphaijit, a leading human rights defender in
>Southern Thailand and wife of disappeared human rights
>lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit. She is currently under a
>witness protection program, but fears she may be in greater
>danger as her protection will next month be transferred to
>the police authorities.
>
>Angkhana Neelaphaijit was placed under the government¹s
>witness protection program following the instigation in 2004
>of a legal case into the disappearance on 12 March 2004 of
>her husband Somchai Neelaphaijit. He has not been seen since
>and is presumed dead. The legal case that implicates five
>police officers in the disappearance of her husband is
>ongoing, though the Thai government continues to delay its
>responsibility to investigate the case and hold the
>perpetrators accountable.
>
>Under current government policy, if a case involves the
>police, the Witness Protection Act stipulates that they
>should not be involved in the protection of witnesses.
>Rather, the Department of Special Investigations (DSI)
>should assign civilian officers under the Ministry of
>Justice. However, Amnesty International has learned that
>starting on 1 March 2008, the DSI will assign only police
>officers to protect witnesses. In a further development,
>following a reported meeting between Angkhana Neelaphaijit
>and the former head of the DSI, in which she expressed her
>concerns for her own personal safety and the safety of her
>family, Police Colonel Thawee Sodsong, the deputy secretary-
>general of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board, was
>assigned as the new head of the DSI. The Police Colonel in
>question was the superior of the five officers currently
>accused in connection with Somchai Neelaphaijit¹s
>disappearance, and is alleged to have given the order.
>
>Angkhana Neelaphaijit is a leading human rights defender in
>Southern Thailand and has been recognized through numerous
>awards for her courage and commitment. She is highly vocal
>and persistent in her criticism of the Thai government, and
>as a result has received many threats to her own safety. Her
>continued placement under the witness protection program is
>of utmost urgency not only to ensure her safety, but to
>enable her to continue doing valuable work. Yet she, along
>with other victims of alleged police violence, does not feel
>safe if police officers take on the responsibility for her
>safety‹so much so that she is considering withdrawing from
>the witness protection program, fearing participation in it
>could place her in greater danger.
>
>BACKGROUND INFORMATION
>The conflict in Southern Thailand has escalated in violence
>between government forces and insurgents in recent years,
>resulting in the loss of over 2,800 lives since January
>2004. Insurgent attacks have been met by government
>reprisals in the form of human rights abuses, including
>extra-judicial executions, disappearances, arbitrary
>detention, and torture and ill-treatment. Those who speak
>out against government authorities face threats and
>intimidation, and restrictions on movement and access that
>compromise their personal safety and the work. At least 26
>people in Thailand, most from the south, are unaccounted for
>since 2001, likely the victims of enforced disappearances.
>Few of these cases have come before a court, and none has
>been conclusively solved.
>
>In January 2008 the People¹s Power Party unveiled a
>coalition government led by Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej,
>following elections held on 23 December 2007. The new
>cabinet features supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin
>Shinawatra, who was replaced by military officials following
>a bloodless coup in September 2006 and is now facing charges
>of corruption. Under the Thaksin regime there were concerns
>at the level of political interference with the judicial
>process and at a sharp rise in extrajudicial killings. The
>recent transfer of the DSI chief and reports that more
>senior officials will be moved to make way for Thaksin
>supporters has led to concerns that the supposedly new
>government is a facade for the old.
>
>RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
>- expressing concern for the safety of Angkhana
>Neelaphaijit;
>- expressing concern that placing her under police
>protection will actually increase the risk to her personal
>safety;
>- calling on the government to provide immediate protection
>for her that is independent of police authorities.
>
>
>APPEALS TO:
>Prime Minister
>Mr. Samak Sundaravej
>The Secretariat of the Prime Minister
>Office of the Prime Minister
>Government House
>Pitsanulok Road
>Dusit, Bangkok 10300
>Thailand
>Fax:  011 66 2 280 0858
>Salutation: Dear Prime Minister
>
>Minister of Justice
>Mr. Sompong Amornwiwat
>Office of the Minister
>Ministry of Justice
>Chaeng Wattana Road
>Pak Kred, Nonthaburi 11120
>Thailand
>Fax: 011 66 2 502 6734
>Salutation: Dear Minister
>
>Chief of the Royal Thai Police
>Pol Gen Seripisuth Temiyavej
>Office of Royal Thai Police
>Rama I Road
>Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
>Thailand
>Fax: 011 66 2 250 1533
>Salutation: Dear Police General
>
>Director-General of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI)
>499 Sukprapreut Building
>Prachachuen Road
>Bangsue District, Bangkok 10800
>Fax: 011 66 2913 7777
>Salutation: Dear Director- General
>
>COPIES TO:
>Ambassador Krit Garnjana-Goonchorn
>Embassy of Thailand
>1024 Wisconsin Ave. N.W
>Washington, D.C. 20007
>Fax: 1 202 944 3611
>Email: info at thaiembdc.org
>
>
>PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
>Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action program if sending appeals after
>9 April 2008.
>
>
>----------------------------------
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>
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>Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement
>that promotes and defends human rights.
>
>This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including
>contact information and stop action date (if applicable).
>Thank you for your help with this appeal.
>
>Urgent Action Network
>Amnesty International USA
>600 Pennsylvania Ave SE 5th fl
>Washington DC 20003
>Email: uan at aiusa.org
>http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
>Phone: 202.544.0200
>Fax: 202.675.8566
>
>----------------------------------
>END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL