Thailand Accused of Failing to Investigate Killings of Protesters

LONDON, Sept. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- In an open letter to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, legal counsel to the Red Shirt pro-democracy movement have accused the Government of Thailand of failing to investigate the killings of more than 80 peaceful protesters in April and May of 2010.

"This is now the third time that we have written to the Thai authorities to make them aware of their obligations under international law and the duty to investigate under the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)," said Robert Amsterdam, an international lawyer retained by the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who acts as legal advisor to local defense counsel to members of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD, or "Red Shirts").  "The fact that we have not received any response to our communications, nor provided with our basic requests for rights such as access to evidence against the accused, reveals that the Thai Government is 1) unwilling to independently investigate these crimes, and 2) that they are engaged in a cover up of the facts."

The letter from Amsterdam to Abhisit, which has been posted publicly on several websites, states:  "Your refusal to dissolve the Emergency Decree and return investigative authority to the police is a strong indication of a cover-up, in the face of numerous eyewitnesses and video evidence indicating that members of the Thai military are responsible for the more than 80 civilian deaths.  The CRES transfer of investigative authority away from the police department on April 20, 2010 put an immediate stop to the investigations by the Royal Thai Police, which were in progress.  The DSI is in possession of autopsy reports for all civilians, but none have been provided to the defense team for our clients or to the relatives of the victims, nor has the DSI provided the defense team with any close circuit video footage of the Demonstrations and their dispersal."

The letter continues:  "the Rome Statute that created the International Criminal Court imposes criminal responsibility against military and civilian superiors who fail to submit crimes against humanity for investigation and prosecution if they knowingly or consciously disregard information that clearly indicates the commission of such crimes by subordinates within their responsibility or control.  See Rome Statute, Art. 28(b)(III).  This doctrine is also a matter of customary international law, applicable to Thailand."

A copy of the complete letter and the accompanying materials can be found on the website http://www.robertamsterdam.com/thailand.

SOURCE Amsterdam & Peroff