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Immigration Challenging Court Order Releasing Chalee Diyu from Unlawful Detention Claiming Detention of the Injured Myanmar Migrant Work Accident Victim Was Lawful

At 15.00 today, Mr. Chalee Diyu and Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF), submit an argument against the appeal motion submitted by the Immigration Bureau to the Court regarding the unlawful detention of Mr. Chalee Diyu, a Burmese migrant worker, while he still hold valid work permit and that the chaining of Mr. Chalee to his hospital bed is a violation of human dignity. Earlier, after receiving the request for review of the lawfulness the detention, the South Bangkok Criminal Court ordered the release of Mr. Chalee and ordered the Immigration Bureau to pay compensation to Mr. Chalee. The Immigration Bureau decided to appeal the Court’s order claiming the authority is not obliged to investigate the right to residency of Mr. Chalee and is authorized to hold him in custody as long as they wish without having to seek the Court order. They also claimed that all legal procedures have been observed and Mr. Chalee’s rights have been respected.

 

On 15 February 2011, the South Bangkok Criminal Court ordered the Immigration Bureau to release and pay compensation to Mr. Chalee Diyu, a 33 year old legally registered Myanmar migrant work accident victim who was illegally arrested, detained and chained to his hospital bed even though he sustained serious injuries after a work accident. The Bureau decided to appeal the Court order asking the Appeals Court to reverse the order of the  Lower Court claiming that they are authorized to hold Mr. Chalee in custody and are not obliged to investigate his right to residency since the matter had already been reviewed by the police at the Pathumthani Police Station. They argued that they detained Mr. Chalee pending deportation. Thus, the Bureau can hold Mr. Chalee as long as they wish without having to seek the Court order. In addition, while referring Mr. Chalee for medical treatment, they have ordered the unchaining of Mr. Chalee and after coordinating and getting confirmed by the Department of Employment that Mr. Chalee had the right to stay in Thailand, they had him released. This proves that the Bureau has been observing the Constitutional provisions and respecting the rights and liberties of Mr. Chalee and no damage had been done to him.

In the argument against the appeal motion by the Immigration Bureau, HRDF affirms that the detention of Mr. Chalee is unlawful and unconstitutional since he was held in custody awaiting deportation even though his work permit had not expired. In addition, his legs were chained to his bed while receiving medical treatment from the Police General Hospital. During the 16-day-detention, the Bureau failed to verify the right to stay of Mr. Chalee. Even after the Lawyers Council of Thailand (LCT) asked the Bureau to have Mr. Chalee released, the Bureau failed to respond to the request. As a result, HRDF had to ask the Court to review the lawfulness of the detention. That the Bureau arbitrarily held Mr. Chalee in detention without resorting to the judicial review is an abuse of the Immigration Act and in breach of the Criminal Procedure Code and the Constitutional provisions which uphold rights and liberties and forbids arbitrary detention. The right to fair treatment as an alleged offender and the right to presumption of innocence have also been violated. Also it is violation of ICCPR which obliges Thailand as a state party not to detain any person arbitrarily and without due process.

Mr. Somchai Homlaor, HRDF’s Secretary said, “As the judiciary is supposed to keep the administrative power in checks, it should rule to set a legal precedent regarding the power to detain a person as per the 1979 Immigration Act. It should make it clear to the competent officials as to what they can do lawfully and how to perform their duties in respect of a person’s rights and liberties in order to avoid a case like Mr. Chalee”.

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