Somchai Neelapaijit (Thai - สมชาย นีละไพจิตร; 13 May 1951 – last seen on 12 March 2004), a Thai

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

activist who "disappeared" 12 March 2004 during

Thaksin Shinawatra Thaksin Shinawatra (, ; born 26 July 1949) is a Thai businessman and politician who was the 23rd prime minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006. Since 2009 he has also been a citizen of Montenegro. Thaksin founded the mobile phone operator A ...

's regime. On that date, Somchai was last seen in

Ramkhamhaeng Ramkhamhaeng (, ) or commonly known as Pho Khun Ramkhamhaeng Maharat (, ) was the third king of the Phra Ruang Dynasty, ruling the Sukhothai Kingdom (a historical kingdom of Thailand) from 1279 to 1298, during its most prosperous era. He is c ...

where eyewitnesses saw four men dragging him from his car. He has not been seen since. Five police officers were charged with coercion in the Somchai case. They were acquitted in 2015. A year later the Department of Special Investigation dropped the case, having shown no results after 12 years of investigation. The case of the (probable) death of Somchai Neelaphaijit has not since been solved. In 2016 the DSI declared the investigation "over".

Background

At the time of his disappearance, Somchai represented five Muslim suspects allegedly involved in an army camp raid in

Narathiwat Narathiwat (, ) is a town ( thesaban mueang) in southern Thailand and capital of Narathiwat Province. The town is in the Mueang Narathiwat District and was established in 1936. As of 2008, the population was 40,521. It lies 1,141 km south ...

in January 2004. The incident triggered the interminable unrest in far south Thailand. Somchai, who had worked in the legal profession for 30 years, was outspoken in his call for the army to end martial law, imposed in January 2004, in the region. martial law remains in effect in

Pattani Pattani (or Patani in Malay spelling) may refer to: Places Continental Asia * Patani (historical region), a historical region in the Malay peninsula, in Thailand and Malaysia. * Pattani Province, modern province in southern Thailand ** Pattani, ...

, Yala, and

. In 2006, the Criminal Court sentenced Pol Maj Ngern Thongsuk of the Crime Suppression Division to three years in jail for his connection with Somchai's disappearance. Four other suspects, all policemen accused of robbery and illegal use of force, were acquitted. Pol Maj Ngern later disappeared. His family testified that he died in a landslide accident. The court declared him a missing person.

Prime minister acknowledges official involvement

In 2014 the ''

Bangkok Post The ''Bangkok Post'' is an English-language daily newspaper published in Bangkok, Thailand. It is published in broadsheet and digital formats. The first issue was sold on 1 August 1946. It had four pages and cost one baht, a considerable amount ...

'' reported: "In January 2006, the court acquitted four of the accused but convicted Pol Major Ngern of the relatively minor charge of coercion. Then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra made a significant statement a day after the court verdict acknowledging that Somchai was dead and government officials were implicated".

Status of the case

The investigation into Somchai's fate was launched in 2004. His wife in 2009 published an account of the efforts made by her, legal advisors, and

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

s on Somchai's behalf. , the thirteenth anniversary of his disappearance, he is suspected to be dead. In late-2013 the DSI said the police file of the case had gone missing, but later claimed it had been found. the status of the case and even which department is handling it was unknown. In 2016 Department of Special Investigation (DSI) "declared the case closed, saying no culprits have been found".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Neelapaijit, Somchai 1951 births 2000s missing person cases Somchai Neelapaijit Somchai Neelapaijit Somchai Neelapaijit Somchai Neelapaijit Somchai Neelapaijit Somchai Neelapaijit Somchai Neelapaijit

Background

Prime minister acknowledges official involvement

Status of the case

See also

References

External links