FAMILY OF MISSING MUSLIM HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 002839

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/BCLTV, PACOM FOR FPA (HUSO)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/26/2015
TAGS: PGOV PHUM TH HUMAN RIGHTS
SUBJECT: FAMILY OF MISSING MUSLIM HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER
RECEIVES THREATS

REF: BANGKOK 1842 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Political Counselor Robert J. Clarke, Reason: 1.4 (d)



1. (U) SUMMARY: Mrs. Angkana Wongrachen, the wife (and
presumed widow) of Muslim lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit, has
alleged that, after a letter was submitted on her behalf to
the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) about the case of
her missing husband, she received anonymous threatening phone
calls from a Thai intelligence official. The Thai Ministry
of Justice (MOJ) has responded by providing her with
protection at her Bangkok home. Human rights NGOs and the
head of the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) support
the formation of an independent commission to investigate
Somchai's disappearance. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) On April 20, the Thai Working Group for the Protection
of Human Rights Workers sent an open letter to the Ministry
of Justice (MOJ) asking for protection for Mrs. Angkana
Wongrachen, the wife of Somchai Neelpaijit, a prominent
Muslim human rights lawyer who has been missing since March
12, 2004 and is presumed dead. (Note: At the time of his
disappearance, Somchai was defending 5 Muslim defendants
accused in an assault on a Thai military weapons depot in
January 2004. The defendants had been moved to protective
detention in Bangkok following claims of torture and abuse by
Thai police while being interrogated in southern Thailand.
End Note.) In the umbrella NGO's open letter, which appeared
on the internet and in some Thai-language daily newspapers,
Somchai Hom-laor, an attorney with the NGO Forum Asia and a
member of the Law Society of Thailand, states that Angkana
received "telephone calls from a man whose voice she
recognized as being that of a government intelligence
officer." The caller reportedly asked her about her
intentions in dealing with the United Nations on the case of
her missing husband. The NGO letter asks the MOJ to take
steps to ensure Angkana and her family's safety and "to send
a message that threats against the families of human rights
abuse victims will not be tolerated."


3. (C) On April 22, Justice Minister Suwat Liptapanlop met
with Angkana to hear her concerns. Based on that meeting,
the Rights and Liberties Protection Department (RLPD) of the
MOJ has assigned officers from the Department of Special
Investigations (DSI) to provide security for Angkana and her
family at their home in Bangkok. Poloff confirmed these
arrangements in conversations with the office of Charnchao
Chaiyanukij, Director General of the RLPD.


4. (C) Poloff also contacted Forum Asia staff member Pornpen
"Noi" Khongkhajornkiart, who has daily contact with Angkana.
According to Noi, Angkana started receiving phone calls on
April 18. The male caller had a voice that Angkana claims
she recognized as an "intelligence official." (Note:
Angkana reportedly did not explain how she knew the voice of
the claimed intelligence official, but according to Noi and
other NGO contacts, Angkana had extensive contact with Police
and other security officials when she provided statements to
them in reporting Somchai's initial disappearance over one
year ago. End Note.)


5. (C) Noi confirmed that at least two DSI officers have
rented a small house near the Neelapaijit home. They have
met with Angkana and asked for her cooperation in keeping
them informed of her daily travel plans and those of her 5
children who reside with her. They call her frequently to
check on her. Noi said Angkana suspects the officials are
monitoring her phone calls and that they are following her
when she goes out for errands. Noi said that Angkana felt
better after talking to the MOJ and voicing her concerns, but
that the presence of the security detail is making her feel
uncomfortable and was an invasion of her personal privacy.


6. (C) In a telephone conversation with Poloff, Somchai
Hom-laor of Forum Asia noted that the threatening phone calls
began after the Asian Legal Resource Center submitted a
letter in Geneva on April 18 to the United Nations Working
Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. In
Angkana's letter to the UN, she complains about the slow pace
of Thai justice and the fact that no progress has been made
in determining what really happened to her husband. "All
this has made me doubt the intentions of the authorities, and
wonder how I can get justice in Thailand." The Geneva-based
working group will meet in Bangkok May 26 through June 3 as
part of its regional meeting schedule. Forum Asia contacts
said that Somchai's disappearance is not yet on the formal
agenda. They opined that the UN will not want to offend
Thailand during the meeting and therefore will not allow
discussion of this case during the meeting in Bangkok. Our
Forum Asia contacts dismissed as rumor recent media reports
stating that unnamed Thai National Security Council (NSC)
officials had made phone calls to Somchai and subsequently to
Somchai's family to arrange a meeting with him shortly after
his disappearance. Forum Asia staff stated that Angkana had
never made these claims to them.


7. (U) Somchai Hom-laor expressed his hope that an
Independent Commission to investigate the Somchai Neelapaijit
case will be set up by Prime Minister Thaksin soon (Bangkok
1842). National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) Chairman
Anand Panyarachun publicly supported this idea on April 23.
Meanwhile, the criminal case against the five policemen
accused of the robbery and kidnapping of Somchai apparently
has been expedited by the Attorney General's office. Forum
Asia staff predicted that the court case will be concluded by
the end of this year.


8. (C) Somchai Hom-laor also informed Poloff that a working
group has been formed at the MOJ to form a National Center
for Missing Persons. This center, to be based in Bangkok,
will encourage information sharing amongst various ministries
and security agencies on pending cases of missing persons. A
forensic laboratory to assist in these efforts will also be
set up. Somchai said that during the last working group
meeting, the Royal Thai Police (RTP) expressed opposition to
the center. He commented that the RTP is reluctant to share
information with other RTG offices and doesn't want to give
up investigative authority.


9. (C) Separately, Somchai Hom-laor said he hopes that the
NRC will set up a mechanism in the South for confidential
reporting of missing persons. When asked about a recent
statement by Dr. Pradit Charoenthaitawee, a member of the
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC),that there were 200
reported missing persons in the South since January 2004,
Somchai said it was very hard to confirm these facts. From
his research, he could only come up with 3 to 4 confirmed
names of missing persons. (Note: When asked about where he
obtained the 200 person figure, Dr. Pradit told Poloff that
it was based on "estimates" from the NHRC's investigations
and their monitoring of media reports. He stated that the
NHRC does not have a detailed list of names. End note.)


10. (C) COMMENT: The quick response by the MOJ to Angkana's
concerns about her safety is encouraging. Clearly, the RTG
would suffer a huge international public relations blow on
the human rights front if anything were to happen to Angkana.
With the recent release of the full reports of the Tak Bai
and Krue Se Independent Commissions by the NRC (Septel),
momentum appears to building for a more transparent process
in investigating human rights abuses. We will be watching
closely the NRC's interface with the MOJ as Somchai's case
continues in the courts and possibly is investigated by a new
independent commission. END COMMENT.
BOYCE