THAILAND TACKLES POLICE CORRUPTION AND BRUTALITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 003164 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP, NSC FOR WALTON E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/16/2019 TAGS: PGOV PHUM DRL TH SUBJECT: THAILAND TACKLES POLICE CORRUPTION AND BRUTALITY WITH SECOND CONVICTION OF BORDER PATROL POLICE REF: A. BANGKOK 2286 ¶B. BANGKOK 1417 BANGKOK 00003164 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Pol Counselor George Kent for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) SUMMARY AND COMMENT -------------- ¶1. (SBU) In a major victory for police reform efforts and accountability in Thailand, a Bangkok district court found eight members of the 41st Border Patrol Police (BPP) unit guilty on charges of assault, illegal detention and extortion. The unprecedented December 8 district court ruling followed an earlier Bangkok criminal court decision finding the same group guilty of accepting bribes, and added some momentum to nascent efforts to hold the police accountable for their transgressions. ¶2. (C) COMMENT: Though local human rights advocates anticipate this verdict will be appealed, it has nevertheless been widely hailed as a critical "first step" in Thailand's ongoing struggle to combat police abuses, and an important moment in a faltering campaign to establish police accountability. The verdict assumes an additional layer of importance given the RTG's renewed efforts to combat drug trafficking along the Burmese border. With memories still fresh of such "clean up" campaigns during former prime Minister Thaksin's tenure -- when hundreds of extrajudicial killings occurred in 2003 -- the need for accountability and judicial credibility remains critical. END SUMMARY AND COMMENT THE B IN BPP STANDS FOR BRUTAL FOR THE 41ST -------------- ¶2. (SBU) RTP Captain Nat Chonnithiwanit and seven other police officers in the 41st unit of the BPP have now been convicted on numerous charges, including receiving bribes, extortion, illegal detention and assault, by two separate Bangkok courts. They were originally arrested in January ¶2008. On July 24, 2009, the eight police officers received a sentence of three years and four months on bribery charges; on December 8, 2009, another court sentenced them to five years in prison for the other crimes. The RTP Crime Suppression Division told us that these represent two of the three cases they have accepted against these officers; the remaining case remains under investigation. According to Human Rights Watch representatives, at least 61 people have filed formal complaints of police abuse against BPP officers under Captain Nat's command. ¶3. (SBU) RTP Major General Piya Uthayo, spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Bureau, told us that many lawsuits have been lodged against this police gang in numerous provinces, although he did not know the exact number. He claimed that the RTP was dedicated to the prosecution of policemen committing crimes and would respect the court's verdicts. The convicted policemen are currently officially suspended from duty and are being detained without bail. As the investigation of these cases has been handled internally to date, the Department of Special Investigations has not yet gotten involved, as they have with the investigations of RTP involvement in extrajudicial killings during Thaksin's "War on Drugs" in 2003. (Ref B) While the current cases do not involve murder charges, allegations include the use of electric shock, beatings, and placing plastic bags over "suspects'" heads to extract confessions, as well as demanding bribes of cash and jewelry to be released or have the charges reduced. ¶4. (SBU) Despite this positive "first step," there is still cause for concern. Chetsada Anuchari, the Chair of the Human Rights Committee of the Lawyer's Council of Thailand cautioned us that the verdicts were only from the courts of first instance; there are at least two levels of appeals, which might result in overturned verdicts or reduced sentences. Furthermore, Chetsada had hoped that higher ranking RTP personnel would be charged and held accountable; he believed that now, as in the past, lower level officers were serving as scapegoats for those truly behind these BANGKOK 00003164 002.2 OF 002 rings. However, he expressed hope that this verdict would serve as a lesson to the RTP, and that officers in the field would learn something about the costs of their actions. ¶5. (SBU) Note: As the RTG launches new initiatives to combat Thailand's expanding drug problem, the need for police accountability is even greater than before. The Ministry of the Interior recently announced a new campaign to clean up 16,106 communities of drug users and traffickers. These programs are popular with the public, as Thai citizens consider drug trafficking to be the most serious of crimes, and strongly support long sentences and even the death penalty for drug traffickers. (Ref A) Human Rights Watch advised the Abhisit administration to continue to pursue cases like those against Captain Nat, rather than see the RTP descend into the same culture of brutality and impunity that existed under Thaksin. JOHN