Human Rights Watch on July 31 called on [7] authorities in Thailand to undertake urgent measures to address the wave of online death threats and harassment against members of parliament Angkhana Neelaphaijit and Romadon Panjor, as well as human rights activist Anchana Heemmina, after they had voiced their disapproval of actions of the Thai military and expressed their support for the Muslim community in the country's Deep South.
Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, stated: "The Thai authorities should urgently and impartially investigate online attacks, including death threats, against Angkhana, Anchana, and Romadon, who have been widely recognized for their work defending human rights in Thailand’s deep south… Those responsible for serious threats should be brought to justice, regardless of their affiliation, to demonstrate Thailand’s commitment to protecting human rights defenders."
The HRW statement came as Angkhana filed a police report under the Computer-Related Crime Act [9] after an online disinformation campaign called for her extrajudicial killing, deemed her a sympathizer of the insurgent group Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN [10]), and falsely claimed that she was a supporter of the deadly militant ambush [11] in Narathiwat province on July 22. Similar claims were shared about Anchana and Romadon. HRW stated that the abusive social media posts were part of a broader state-orchestrated initiative, with these accounts being traced back to the Thai government’s information operations.
Angkhana, a senator and former commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand, has long been the subject of a state-sponsored campaign of intimidation for her frontline work in advocating for the rights of the Thai Muslim community. The Muslim community [12] in Thailand, which is concentrated in the Deep South [13], specifically in regions such as Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Satun, is extremely vulnerable to being arbitrarily detained [14] by way of emergency decrees and martial law, forcibly disappeared, tortured while in custody, forced to assimilate by adopting a generic Thai identity, and excluded from holding jobs due to widespread social prejudice.
Thailand's military has a documented history of human rights abuses [15], including during the 2010 Red Shirt Protests [16], which saw the army deployed under a strict state of emergency [17], leading to over 80 fatalities. However, military repression [18] in the Deep South rarely receives the same level of publicity [18] compared to other provinces in the country, largely due to severe political neglect, the framing of abuses as counter-terrorism measures, and geographic marginalization. This has resulted in the scale of abuses in the Deep South being effectively invisible, with minimal investigations conducted into such cases.
Angkhana's husband, Somchai Neelaphaijit, a prominent human rights lawyer, was last seen being pushed into a car [19] by a group of men against his will in early 2004. He has never been seen since, leaving behind his wife and five young children.
From JURIST [20], Aug. 2. Used with permission. Internal links added.
