Thailand: Hold Soldiers Accountable For Torture, Killing Of Myanmar National

(BANGKOK, November 14, 2024)—Evidence suggests Thai Army soldiers detained and tortured to death Aung Ko Ko, 37, a Myanmar national, near the Thailand-Myanmar border and then the authorities convicted another Myanmar national of manslaughter in the case, according to a new report released by Fortify Rights today. The Thai government should conduct a thorough, prompt, and impartial investigation into the involvement of Thai Army soldiers in the torture and killing of Aung Ko Ko and ensure that all perpetrators are brought to justice, said Fortify Rights.

“The horrific torture and killing of Aung Ko Ko cannot be allowed to go unanswered. The soldiers responsible for this should be brought to justice without delay, ” said Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Fortify Rights. “Despite the current lack of accountability for the military’s involvement in Aung Ko Ko’s killing, Thai authorities can reverse course and prevent impunity from taking hold. Our report is intended to help the authorities ensure justice in this case.”

The 44-page report, Death at the Thai-Myanmar Border: The Detention, Torture, and Killing of Myanmar National Aung Ko Ko in Thailand, provides a detailed account of how four Thai Army soldiers detained Aung Ko Ko on January 12, 2024 near the Thailand-Myanmar border in Mae Sot District, Tak Province and how three of those soldiers then tortured Aung Ko Ko, who later died from his injuries. The report also highlights problems with the Thai police investigation into Aung Ko Ko’s death and the trial and conviction of a 24-year-old Myanmar national, Sirachuch, who goes by one name and was an eyewitness to the torture of Aung Ko Ko.

On January 12, 2024, at approximately 11 a.m., four Thai soldiers detained Aung Ko Ko near a small wooden bridge located in the 70 Rai area in Mae Sot District, Tak Province. Eyewitnesses described to Fortify Rights how three soldiers beat Aung Ko Ko severely, including with a long wooden implement. Eyewitness testimony to Fortify Rights and photographs of the victim’s body reviewed by Fortify Rights show that Aung Ko Ko was severely bruised and bloodied with cuts. He had dark bruises on his forehead, around both cheekbones, and on his nose. Almost his entire back was heavily bruised. Photographs also show a deep cut approximately one-inch long on his right elbow.

One of several eyewitnesses, “M.L.” (not his actual initials), told Fortify Rights that the soldiers interrogated Aung Ko Ko before they beat him. He said:

After Aung Ko Ko finished speaking [in response to the questioning], the leader [of the soldiers] started beating him in front of us, using a bamboo stick repeatedly on the back and legs with such force that the bamboo stick eventually broke. Then, he used a long, solid stick about 1.5 meters [almost five feet] long to continue until that stick also broke.

Aung Ko Ko lived in Thailand and was a former member of the Chor Ror Bor—a community-based security force trained by the Thai authorities. Eyewitnesses told Fortify Rights the soldiers initially detained and questioned Aung Ko Ko because he was a Myanmar national wearing a Chor Ror Bor vest.

Death at the Thai-Myanmar Border is based on a comprehensive investigation conducted by Fortify Rights in Mae Sot District, Tak Province, Thailand from January to September 2024. The organization conducted 23 interviews with a range of sources, including eyewitnesses, village security volunteers, a local village head, family members and affiliates of Aung Ko Ko, as well as human rights defenders assisting people on the move in Mae Sot District. Fortify Rights also engaged directly with the Mae Sot police force and visited the sites where Thai soldiers detained and tortured Aung Ko Ko.

In addition, Fortify Rights obtained and reviewed Aung Ko Ko’s autopsy report and analyzed other visual evidence, including photographs taken during his detention and after his death, which reveal clear signs of torture. The organization also interviewed Sirachuch and his lawyer and observed his trial at the Mae Sot Provincial Court on August 1 and 9, 2024. Through this meticulous investigation, Fortify Rights has documented critical evidence shedding light on the circumstances surrounding Aung Ko Ko's death.

Like Aung Ko Ko, Sirachuch was also a local Chor Ror Bor member. On September 27, 2024, a Thai court sentenced Sirachuch to three years and four months in prison for being an accomplice to the manslaughter of Aung Ko Ko. At the time of writing, no members of the Thai Army have been apprehended or face trial for the death of Aung Ko Ko.
 

“Sirachuch’s conviction is a miscarriage of justice,” said Matthew Smith. “Available evidence indicates that the violent actions of at least three soldiers resulted in Aung Ko Ko’s death, yet Sirachuch is serving time for their actions.”

On September 18, 2024, Fortify Rights sent letters to the Ministry of Justice, the Royal Thai Police, and the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand, sharing information about the Fortify Rights report and investigation and requesting meetings to discuss the killing of Aung Ko Ko.

On October 22, 2024, Fortify Rights received an invitation from Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to provide testimony based on our investigation. On November 7, Fortify Rights provided in-person testimony to DSI in Bangkok and filed a complaint regarding the killing of Aung Ko Ko. The organization provided DSI with an advance Thai-language version of Death at the Thai-Myanmar Border and other evidence relevant to the case.

Last week, between November 5 and 6, the U.N. Committee Against Torture — the expert body that reviews U.N. member-state compliance with the Convention Against Torture, to which Thailand is a state party — reviewed Thailand’s compliance with the treaty. During the review, Aimon Siangyai, the Director General of the Rights and Liberties Protection Department in Thailand’s Ministry of Justice, said, “No one will be immune from criminal liability for committing torture,” adding that Thai law includes “aggravating punitive clauses when the offenses inflicted leads [sic] to death and when the victims belong to vulnerable groups.”

The right to be free from torture is non-derogable under international law, meaning that it cannot be suspended or limited under any circumstance. Thailand’s domestic law—including the Thai Constitution, the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act (the anti-torture act), the Criminal Code, and the Criminal Procedure Code—also guarantee the right to life and protection from extrajudicial killings as well as protection from torture and arbitrary arrest, and the right to certain remedies to survivors of crimes.

Under the anti-torture act, public officials found guilty of torture are liable to between five and 15 years in prison and a fine of between 200,000 to 500,000 Thai Baht (approximately US$6,000 to 15,000).

Thai soldiers responsible for crimes are not immune from the law and should be brought to justice through fair and impartial trials, regardless of their ranks or affiliations, said Fortify Rights.

Fortify Rights, U.N. agencies, and national and international human rights organizations have long documented the involvement of Thai authorities in the abuse of migrants and refugees, including the arbitrary arrest, detention, and extortion of Myanmar refugees. In some cases, such incidents have led to investigations and accountability.

For example, in October 2023, the Mae Sot police established a fact-finding committee after Fortify Rights documented how Thai police targeted Myanmar refugees seeking healthcare in Mae Sot and arbitrary arrested and extorted payments from such refugees. In another example, in June 2022, Thai parliament initiated an inquiry on the treatment of refugees in Thailand after Fortify Rights documented actions by Thai authorities to prevent refugees from entering Thailand. Most notably, in another example, in July 2017, Thailand convicted scores of perpetrators, including a Thai Army Lieutenant General, in the country’s largest-ever human trafficking trial after evidence exposed how Thai officials worked hand-in-hand with a transnational human trafficking syndicate responsible for the torture, rape, extortion, and murder of hundreds, if not thousands, of mostly Rohingya refugees.

On October 9, 2024, U.N. member states elected Thailand to the U.N. Human Rights Council, an intergovernmental body responsible for promoting and protecting human rights worldwide.
 

“As an incoming member of the Human Rights Council, Thailand’s leaders have a heightened responsibility to protect human rights,” said Matthew Smith. “Bringing Aung Ko Ko’s true killers to justice would be an important step toward protecting migrants and refugees—both groups suffering serious human rights violations in the country.”

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