Human rights organization urges Thai government to abolish death penalty

Thailand’s Union for Civil Liberty is calling for the abolition of capital punishment in the kingdom following a rise in the number of criminals condemned to death in the Deep South.

The union held a seminar on Monday at the foundation of the Islamic Center, where experts discussed the situation in the southern region and confirmed the global trend of moving away from the death penalty.

Human rights activist and union member Dr. Danthong Breen spoke extensively on the security of legal cases in the restive region where the emergency decree and the Internal Security Act have long been enforced. Unlike most parts of Thailand, where traditional criminal law is in effect, the invocation of the special marshal laws in the Deep South deeply affects the judicial process, including the absence of rights to obtain a lawyer during interrogation and apprehending suspects without warrants, said Dr. Danthong.