Rights groups call on Thailand to close military prison

Thai soldiers escort the fortune teller, Suriyan Sutjritpolwongse, centre, better known by the nickname "Mor Yong," as he arrives at military court in Bangkok, Thailand, last month. Pic: AP.

by Asian Correspondent Staff -25th November 2015

HUMAN RIGHTS groups have called on Thailand to immediately close a military detention center where two high-profile prisoners died in controversial circumstances over the past month.

A statement issued Tuesday by the U.N. Human Rights Office for Southeast Asia called on the country’s ruling junta to stop using military facilities to hold civilian detainees.

The U.N. appeal follows the deaths in custody of two people arrested on charges of insulting the monarchy by claiming to be representing the royal palace for their own financial benefit.

Meanwhile, in an open letter to the Permanent Mission of Thailand to the United Nations in Geneva, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) raised “serious concern about the establishment of a detention facility holding non-military persons named the Nakhon Chaisri temporary remand facility”.

The letter called for the immediate transfer of non-military prisoners to a civilian facility and an investigation into the deaths of Suriyan Sucharitpolwong and Prakrom Warunprapa. Both were arrested last month.

Prakrom was said to have died by suicide and Saurian, better known by his soothsayer name Mor Yong, from blood poisoning. Both bodies were hurriedly cremated, raising suspicions of a cover-up.

Thailand’s military government calls safeguarding the monarchy a priority.

Additional reporting from Associated Press