Submitted on Mon, 15 Aug 2016 - 04:24 PM
Relatives of two local red shirt leaders have reported abuse of power by the Thai military to the UN in Bangkok after the two were detained incommunicado. The two leaders were accused of involvement in the explosions in the upper South that took place a week earlier.
On Monday, 15 August 2016, a group of relatives of Narong Phadungsaksi and Sornwat Kurajinda discussed the arrests with officials of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR) in Bangkok, reported BBC Thai.
Narong is a local red shirt leader in the central province of Ang Thong. Sornwat is a local leader in Maha Sarakham Province in northeastern Thailand. They were arrested by the military on Saturday.
According to an unnamed relative, Narong was arrested on 13 August by about eight soldiers who searched his house in the early morning and alleged that Narong possessed explosives. They also confiscated Narong’s mobile phone and detained him incommunicado.
Sornwat’s wife, Duangchai Huana, told the media that on the early morning of 13 August, her husband was taken from his house by more than 10 soldiers. A local soldier later told her that Sornwat remained detained at the 11th Military Circle in Bangkok so she decided to consult the UN on the issue.
UN officers have suggested she contact the 11th Military Circle first before reporting back to the UN.
