Oct 15 – Today, all seven defendants in the Tak Bai tragedy case did not appear in court for their final interrogation, prompting the Narathiwat Provincial Court to order another postponement of the interrogation, even though the case will expire in 10 days.
More than a hundred victims and their families, including representatives of local villagers in Narathiwat Province, who had traveled to wait for the defendants in the Tak Bai tragedy case to appear at the Narathiwat Provincial Court since early morning, had to gradually return home with feelings of disappointment.
Finally, all seven defendants in this case, who were scheduled to give their final statements to the court before the statute of limitations expires in 10 days, did not show up as scheduled.
As a result, at 11:00 a.m., the Narathiwat Provincial Court ruled to postpone the examination of the testimony again for the third time on October 28th. This is considered a ruling to ask for additional testimony even though the case will expire on Octob
er 25th. At the same time, the order was maintained that if the authorities find the defendants anywhere, they can immediately arrest all 7 defendants according to the arrest warrant.
Mr. Romdon Panjor, a party-list MP from the Prachachat Party, stated that the fact that the seven defendants failed to appear to give their statements in court reflected the failure and inequality in the justice process. From today onwards, if this government allows the Tak Bai case to expire without being able to arrest the seven defendants and bring them to justice, it will not only affect the resolution of the peace problem in the three southern border provinces, but will also certainly affect the government’s confidence and confidence in the security of the area.
Mr. Muhammasawi Useng, younger brother of the deceased in the Tak Bai incident, said that even though he and the families of the victims who came to wait for the defendants in the Tak Bai case today did not fully expect that all 7 defendants would come to appear,
deep down he still believed that he and the families of the victims would receive justice in the case that they had been waiting for almost 20 years.
The Tak Bai tragedy case is a case related to state security because many high-ranking government officials, from the former commander of the 4th Army, former provincial governors, and former police station superintendents, are involved. This has made the case of widespread public interest, as to whether officials will be able to arrest and prosecute these high-ranking defendants.
While the villagers who were victims in this case are eagerly waiting for the trial, we must continue to follow up on whether the police will be able to arrest any of the escaped defendants in the next 10 days or not, and if the statute of limitations ends on October 25, how will the interrogation start on October 28 proceed ? – Thai News Agency
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Source: Thai News Agency