Security of Witnesses Feared As Thailand Human Trafficking Trial Begins

Thailand's human trafficking trial began on Tuesday and the human rights groups have expressed their fear over the security of witnesses.  The 92 defendants include high-profile  people, including a military general, government officials and police officers accused of death of dozens of people and smuggling. They all pleaded not guilty over the charges.

Thailand's human trafficking trial follows the shocking discovery of mass graves in a jungle near the Malaysian border last year.  The defendants were charged with human trafficking linking international crimes, illegally detaining others and concealing bodies.  If they will be proven guilty of the offenses, they may face a sentence of up to 15 years and a fine of up to 1 million baht (U.S. $28,469).  Due to the sensitivity of the case and the involvement of the prominent people in the case, the rights group are fearing he safety of the witnesses due to the lack of police protection,  National Multimedia reports.

"The court is accelerating the case to finish within a year," said Prayuth Porsuttayaruk, deputy director general of the human trafficking office at the Attorney General's Office. Thailand's human trafficking trial may take up to two years to finish.

The unearthing of the graves led to Thai's crackdown on human-trafficking networks.  The authorities first discovered 30 shallow graves before they found 139 graves over the Malaysian border. The remains were believed to be of Rohingya "boat people," the ethnic Muslim minority who were persecuted due to their religion in Buddhist Myanmar. Former Thai army Lt. Gen. Manas Kongoaen and other defendants were accused of transnational human-trafficking that happened from Myanmar to Malaysia via Thailand. According to Telegraph, the traffickers asked $2,000 (£1,400) ransoms to the families before they were sent to Malaysia.

A Rohingya witness and a trafficking victim who testified in Thailand's human trafficking trial on Tuesday described his five-day sea journey from Myanmar to Ranong last year. "Both hands were tied with rope and we were forced to board the vessel, walk down to the second deck and sit on a cramped floor," Roshiduila said, RFA Org reported.

Late last year, country's chief anti-trafficking police investigator Major General Paween Pongsirin fled out of Thailand as he feared for his life.  He said that influential people wanted to silence him after his findings of the largest human-trafficking in Thailand's history. The attorney-general's office has declared that they are looking into the possibility of finishing the trial in less than a year as the witnesses' life have been at high risk.

Tags

Thailand Human Trafficking Trial, largest Human Trafficking in Thailand, Rohingya boat people, Muslim minority in Myanmar, Human Rights Groups

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