Showing 1 - 7 of 7
HRC term off to shaky start
News, Editorial, Published on 04/12/2024
» Winning a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) in October is one thing. But walking the line of good human rights protection seems to be a different issue for the Thai government, which starts its three-year term with the body on Jan 1.
Bdap's arrest a litmus test
Oped, Editorial, Published on 15/06/2024
» As Thailand vies for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) for the 2025-2027 term -- something the previous Prayut government failed to do -- the arrest of Y Quynh Bdap, a Vietnamese political activist with UN refugee status, will serve as a litmus test for Thailand's human rights standards.
Will justice be served?
Oped, Editorial, Published on 01/06/2024
» The arrest of inmate Chaowalit "Sia Paeng Nanod" Thongduang has helped to boost the sagging image of Thai justice and our law enforcers.
Red Bull case must rev up
Oped, Editorial, Published on 29/02/2024
» After a long delay, justice is starting to take its course in the notorious hit-and-run case involving Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya, the Red Bull scion who allegedly killed a policeman in the Thong Lor area of Sukhumvit in September 2012 before fleeing the country.
Don't drag on Araibi case
News, Editorial, Published on 15/01/2019
» The government should reconsider the continued detention of the refugee Hakeem al-Araibi, known as the refugee football player. He is being held without bail at Bangkok Remand Prison as a flight risk, while authorities from Bahrain attempt to extradite him. There is little compelling evidence to send him to a dangerous and possibly violent fate in that country. On the other hand, there are strong reasons to free him to return to Australia, where he has lived for four years in asylum while working towards citizenship.
Abetting dictators
News, Editorial, Published on 12/12/2018
» The sudden government interest in apprehending political opponents of foreign governments is disappointing. It may be coincidence but in just a week, police have forcibly detained critics of the governments of Cambodia and Bahrain. The arrests and threats of deportation or extradition to these undemocratic countries go against normal human rights practices. They also violate decades of Thai policy that often welcomed and never threatened lives of foreigners pitted against their governments.
Asean agrees on extradition
News, Editorial, Published on 01/05/2018
» A seemingly forgotten legal necessity for Asean was announced at last weekend's annual summit in Singapore. The chairman for 2018, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, said that the long-delayed Asean extradition treaty was nearing completion. The announcement, made almost in passing at the busy heads-of-government meetings came as a welcome surprise. But it is crucial that the 10-nation group get the treaty right, and not fold to countries who want it to enforce political crimes.