BANGKOK, Sept 12 (Askume) – A Thai court on Thursday summoned a former army commander and issued arrest warrants for six retired senior security officials for earlier missing a hearing in a criminal case over the deaths of 85 Muslim protesters.
Those involved were charged with murder and unlawful detention for mishandling a 2004 demonstration in the town of Déby, in which seven protesters were shot dead and 78 others were crushed or suffocated by soldiers.
The lawsuit, launched by the families of 48 victims, was accepted by the court in August, just two months before the limitation period expired on 25 October.
The high-profile incident in Malaysia’s nearby Narathiwat province upset then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and implicated his former regional army commander Pisan Wattanawanggiri, now a member of the ruling Pheu Pheu Thai Party, backed by Thaksin.
Thaksin’s daughter Patongtarn Shinawatra is currently the Prime Minister.
Arrest warrants were issued for all except Pisan, who has parliamentary immunity and was summoned to attend the next hearing on October 15, according to a document seen by Askume at a Narathiwat court meeting.
“If the defendant does not appear for the next hearing, the court may take additional steps so that the judicial process can continue,” said Rasda Manursada, one of the lawyers for the victim’s family.
The Thai government expressed regret over Te Bai’s death at the time but denied wrongdoing, while police initially said some protesters were armed.
The Dibai action, which took place during martial law, was one of the deadliest incidents in the revived separatist insurgency that year and more than 7,600 people have since been killed.
