SIX THAI POLICEMEN CHARGED WITH TEEN'S 2004 MURDER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 001417 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/12/2019 TAGS: PGOV PHUM KJUS KCRM TH SUBJECT: SIX THAI POLICEMEN CHARGED WITH TEEN'S 2004 MURDER REF: A. BANGKOK 364 (HOPING FOR JUSTICE) ¶B. BANGKOK 164 (PUSHING FOR ACCOUNTABILITY) ¶C. BANGKOK 26 (PLOTTER CONVICTED) ¶D. 03 BANGKOK 2830 (BLACKLISTS AND BODY COUNTS) BANGKOK 00001417 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i. Robert Griffiths, reason: 1.4 (b and d). SUMMARY AND COMMENT -------------- ¶1. (C) The Department of Special Investigations (DSI) has charged six Royal Thai Police (RTP) officers with the July 2004 premeditated murder of 17-year-old Kiattisak Thitboonkrong. Kiattisak is just one of over 20 young men who died suspiciously in Kalasin Province from 2003-2005 in what appears to be part of a pattern of HUMAN RIGHTS abuses that reached its height during former Prime Minister Thaksin's 2003 "War on Drugs" (ref D). The DSI investigation of this case resulted from a push by the family and NGOs. The DSI Special Cases Unit (SCU) has the resources to investigate only a small number of crimes but has a high record of convictions. ¶2. (C) Comment: The DSI's handling of Kiattisak's case provides a welcome but relatively rare example of Thai security officials being held to account for a HUMAN RIGHTS violation. Given the delays and difficulties involved in this case's investigation, we do not believe that this case presages a sea change in accountability. But the charges filed against six police officers may have a positive deterrent effect, especially if the Abhisit administration continues earlier efforts to resolve high-profile crimes (refs A and B). End Summary and Comment. SIX POLICE OFFICERS CHARGED IN MURDER -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The Department of Special Investigations (DSI) in May 2009 charged six RTP officers (three commissioned, three non-commissioned) with the July 2004 premeditated murder of 17-year-old Kiattisak Thitboonkrong. Kiattisak, who was beaten to death and hung, appeared to have been killed by security officials, although their motives were unclear. Although Kiattisak died a year after the Thaksin-era "War on Drugs," most Thai and international NGOs who followed his case viewed his death in the context of the wave of extra-judicial killings associated with that counternarcotics effort (ref D). The six RTP officers entered a "not guilty" plea and were released on bail. The time frame for further 
proceedings remains unclear; following further investigation, the case will be forwarded to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) for a determination on whether to prosecute. A DSI official told us it could be approximately one year before court proceedings begin. ¶4. (SBU) Kiattisak's case is one of over 20 suspicious deaths in Kalasin province that NGO activists associate with a climate of impunity that peaked during the 2003 "War on Drugs." NGOs contend that the police felt that they had a free hand to dispense justice (however they saw fit) against not only drug dealers, but against petty criminals as well. LONG ROAD TO JUSTICE -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The DSI charges against the six police officers resulted from a determined push for accountability by Kiattisak's family, who -- with the assistance of Thai NGOs -- took their case to various RTG agencies. The DSI's SCU has accepted relatively few cases for investigation; since the DSI's creation in 2004, the SCU has accepted approximately 80 cases for investigation, with over 100 others still under consideration for acceptance. Of the 80 accepted cases, over 50 have concluded, with a conviction rate of over 80 percent. ¶6. (SBU) Kiattisak's case appears to have proceeded this far because of the determined efforts of his family and NGOs such as the Hong Kong-based Asian HUMAN RIGHTS Commission (AHRC). Kiattisak's family took the unusual step of having his body autopsied (rather than cremated in the Buddhist tradition). BANGKOK 00001417 002.2 OF 002 The autopsy findings likely made the authorities more likely to accept the case for SCU investigation. (Cases are referred to SCU by a 22-member committee composed of high-ranking government officials, formally chaired by the Prime Minister. DSI is represented on that committee only by its Director General.) Thailand's National HUMAN RIGHTS Commission (NHRC) had also recommended an independent investigation into Kiattisak's case. ¶7. (C) Several factors appeared to delay the investigation of Kiattisak's case: - The Kalasin police had referred the case to the National Counter-Corruption Commission (NCCC); this led to a delay while the NCCC determined that Kiattisak's was not the kind of "abuse of power" case that was their bailiwick. - Colonel Piyawat Kingkate, who heads the SCU, told us the SCU's own investigation was delayed by internal obstruction, which led Piyawat to replace the chief investigator. - International NGOs, such as AHRC, attribute the delays to the Thaksin administration hampering of HUMAN RIGHTS investigations; a Thai HUMAN RIGHTS lawyer similarly blamed the delays on political pressure. ¶8. (SBU) The week following the announcement of the charges in Kiattisak's case, Thai HUMAN RIGHTS activists escorted family members of eight other Kalasin victims to meet with DSI personnel. The Lawyers COUNCIL of Thailand has confirmed that they are assisting Kiattisak's family in the upcoming legal proceedings and are considering advocating on behalf of victims in three other similar cases. It remains unclear whether these cases will lead to further charges or prosecutions. GRIFFITHS