THAILAND: SUSPECTED JI MEMBERS FOUND NOT GUILTY

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANGKOK 003592

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/BCLTV
PACOM FOR FPA (HUSO)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/31/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER TH
SUBJECT: THAILAND: SUSPECTED JI MEMBERS FOUND NOT GUILTY


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


1. (C) Maisuri Haji Abdulloh and three other suspected Thai
Jemaah Islamayah (JI) members on trial in Bangkok on charges
of plotting to bomb Western embassies and other targets in
Thailand were found "not guilty" on June 1 in a Bangkok
court. One of the defense attorneys, Witthaya Buranasin of
the Muslim Lawyers association, confirmed to Emboffs that all
charges were dropped by the Bangkok Criminal Court.
According to Witthaya, the four were found not guilty based
on a lack of evidence. The testimony of the prosecution's
key witness in the case, Singaporean citizen Arifin bin Ali,
was thrown out by the judge.


2. (SBU) The trial has drawn widespread international
attention from human rights groups because the defendants'
first attorney, Somchai Neelaphaijit -- a prominent Muslim
Lawyer and human rights activist -- disappeared during the
opening stages of the trial after he accused RTG security
forces of torturing the defendants. The direct role of Thai
police in Somchai's disappearance is widely accepted.
Currently, five police officers are facing charges for
involvement in the lawyer's disappearance.


3. (SBU) Despite the "not guilty" verdict, the accused
remain in custody under court order. According to Thai law,
the prosecutors are obligated to file an appeal within 30
days of a "not guilty" verdict, sending the case to an
appeals court for review. If the defendants are again found
"not guilty" by the appeals court, the prosecution will have
the option to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.
Attorneys for the defendants -- who have been in detention
since 2003 -- have filed a request for bail.


4. (C) COMMENT: Based on the way the RTG initially pursued
the case, we expect that the government will do its best on
preparations for the appeals hearing and will move the case
to the Supreme Court if the defendants are found "not guilty"
again during the second hearing. Prime Minister Thaksin had
personally trumpeted the arrests of the four accused JI
members, which came shortly before his visit to the U.S. in

2003. Thaksin and others in the government probably will see
this verdict as a serious loss of face.


5. (C) COMMENT CONTINUED: On the other hand, the Thai
political atmosphere on the southern situation has changed
since the defendants were initially detained and the RTG may
decide that it cannot improve its case. Embassy contacts at
the Law Society of Thailand told Poloff that there was no
real evidence presented in the trial that could legitimately
tie the defendants to a plot to bomb embassies in Bangkok --
no plans were found, and the one witness was determined to be
not credible. The government had claimed that other witnesses
were available, but could not produce any for the trial. The
Law Society told us they will make a strong push for bail to
be granted. A denial of bail will undoubtedly upset Muslims
in southern Thailand who generally believe Maisuri and the
other defendants are innocent, and who view the apparent
abduction of the lawyer Somchai as symbolic of government
abuses against southern Muslims. END COMMENT
BOYCE