Rights panel wants probe accelerated
The Committee for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders yesterday demanded the government speed up a probe into the disappearance of a Ratchaburi conservationist.
Thares Sodsi, 53, disappeared following his allegations of land encroachment by influential local figures. He went missing from his Ban Kha sub-district home on Thursday night. Blood stains, spent casings and bullets were recovered. Police suggest he might have been killed and his body removed. The rights group demanded the government move quickly to ensure no repeat of the unsolved disappearance of rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit. It said residents were shaken by the disappearance and in fear of influential figures if the case remained unsolved. The group wanted a state investigation into allegations of forest encroachment by investors and influential people. If they are true the government must get tough on influential figures in Ratchaburi, it said. It said a complaint laid by Thares could be behind his disappearance and there needed to be measures to protect rights activists at risk after conflicts with influential figures. Police yesterday searched five Ban Kha sub-district locations. Bloodstains were found in a vehicle belonging to a village headman and on clothing owned by an assistant. Police questioned five people in connection with the disappearance, including headman Amnat Romphoree and the unnamed assistant. No arrest warrants have been sought to date.
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