The Justice Ministry yesterday urged relatives of the more than 2,500 people slain during the Thaksin Shinawatra government's "war on drugs" in early 2003 to seek justice in a re-examination of the highly controversial campaign.

The ministry promised that if evidence of crime led to the ousted premier, it would ensure that legal punishment was meted out.

Permanent secretary for Justice Charan Phakdithanakul said that officials attending yesterday's 30th meeting of drug law enforcement agencies from Asia and the Pacific had asked about killings of the 2,500-plus alleged drug dealers.

The Thai government replied that it stood firm on its drug crackdown with respect to human rights, he said. Officials also cited the Royal project that encouraged hill-tribe people grow crops instead of opium.

Prior to the meeting, which runs until Friday at the UN Conference Centre in Bangkok, Charan said Justice officials had been gathering information about the alleged extrajudicial killings and a review of the government campaign should be completed soon.

He said the review was needed because the United Nations was looking at the issue and the government had a duty to tell the truth.

Asked if the legal process would reach all the way up to the former prime minister or his government, Charan said it depended on what evidence was presented. Officials would follow new information to wherever it led.

Charan mentioned his previous meeting with former Nakhon Ratchasima senator Kraisak Choonhavan, who brought evidence of a couple being killed despite having no history of drug dealing. That inquiry ended with no one being punished.

Kraisak said the two had won first prize in a lottery but kept their win a secret. But people became suspicious about where their sudden wealth came from.

As for other similar cases, the ministry admitted it would not be possible to re-examine all 2,500 deaths, so would only check those cases with clear evidence that those killed were innocent.

The ministry would start with cases filed by relatives of those killed, Charan said.

The Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) would be the major database for records on those killed, while the Department of Special Investigation would re-investigate the slayings.

ONCB secretary-general Kitti Limchaikij said his agency had found that officials had ended inquiries into 1,600 to 1,700 of the 2,500 deaths, saying there was no evidence pointing to any culprits. The rest, he said, were general criminal cases that may not have been involved with the drug-related murders from February to May in 2003.

Kitti said relatives of the dead should file appeals for justice because there was no law that authorised such killings.

Meanwhile, National Human Rights Commissioner Wasan Panich urged the new government to apologise to relatives of those killed in the "war on drugs".

Wasan said relatives of up to 50 people had filed complaints with the NHRC, which had found that all were innocent people who had been blacklisted despite no evidence to indicate their involvement in drug dealing.

In many cases, he said drugs were later planted on the bodies.

"The relatives are angry because innocent family members were cruelly killed and their property unjustly seized."

He urged the government to look into the killings regardless of the one-year statute of limitations.

The blacklist compiled in January 2003 and used by police and other state agencies to carry out the anti-drugs campaign was drawn up improperly, with names gathered in communities in which personal conflicts abounded, he said.

This gave people with a grudge the opportunity to give the names of those they had a problem with, he said.

The list included the names of drug suspects' relatives who had nothing to do with the trade, of suspects already cleared by the courts, of those in conflict with government officials, of those who had suddenly become rich and were automatically assumed to deal in drugs, he said.

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Data on 'police killings'

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) deputy spokesman Poramet Intharachumnum yesterday suggested police should handle the re-examination of the alleged extrajudicial drug killings because they had more information.

Poramet also revealed police-related statistics from 2003 to November 13, 2006.

In 2003, there were 161 cases of suspects dying while in police custody or from extrajudicial killings, with two of the cases being taken to court, 140 dismissed and 19 returned to police investigators.

In 2004, there were 196 cases, of which two went to court, 157 were dismissed and 37 returned to investigators.

In 2005, 132 cases were reported. One case reached the court, 107 were dismissed and 24 returned for investigation.

In 2006, there have been 90 cases, two of which were taken to court, 44 dismissed and 10 returned to investigators because of incomplete evidence. The other 34 cases were still be considered by the OAG, Poramet said.