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Somchai Neelapaijit | |
|---|---|
สมชาย นีละไพจิตร | |
| Born | (1951-05-13)13 May 1951 |
| Disappeared | 12 March 2004(2004-03-12) (aged 52) Bangkok, Thailand |
| Status | Missing for 21 years, 11 months and 5 days |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1970s–2004 |
| Spouse | Angkhana Neelaphaijit |
Somchai Neelapaijit (Thai - สมชาย นีละไพจิตร; 13 May 1951 – last seen on 12 March 2004), aThaiMuslimlawyer andhuman rights activist who "disappeared" 12 March 2004 duringThaksin Shinawatra's regime. On that date, Somchai was last seen inRamkhamhaeng where eyewitnesses saw four men dragging him from his car.[1] He has not been seen since.[2]
Five police officers were charged with coercion in the Somchai case. They were acquitted in 2015. A year later the Department of Special Investigation dropped the case, having shown no results after 12 years of investigation. The case of the (probable) death of Somchai Neelaphaijit has not since been solved. In 2016 the DSI declared the investigation "over".[3][4]
At the time of his disappearance, Somchai represented five Muslim suspects allegedly involved in an army camp raid inNarathiwat in January 2004. The incident triggered the interminable unrest in far south Thailand. Somchai, who had worked in the legal profession for 30 years, was outspoken in his call for the army to end martial law, imposed in January 2004, in the region.[5] As of 2017[update] martial law remains in effect inPattani,Yala, andNarathiwat.[2]
In 2006, the Criminal Court sentenced Pol Maj Ngern Thongsuk of the Crime Suppression Division to three years in jail for his connection with Somchai's disappearance. Four other suspects, all policemen accused of robbery and illegal use of force, were acquitted. Pol Maj Ngern later disappeared. His family testified that he died in a landslide accident. The court declared him a missing person.[2]
In 2014 theBangkok Post reported: "In January 2006, the court acquitted four of the accused but convicted Pol Major Ngern of the relatively minor charge of coercion. Then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra made a significant statement a day after the court verdict acknowledging that Somchai was dead and government officials were implicated".[6]
The investigation into Somchai's fate was launched in 2004. His wife in 2009 published an account of the efforts made by her, legal advisors, andNGOs on Somchai's behalf.[7] As of March 2017[update], the thirteenth anniversary of his disappearance, he is suspected to be dead.
In late-2013 the DSI said the police file of the case had gone missing, but later claimed it had been found.[8] As of 2014[update] the status of the case and even which department is handling it was unknown.[9]
In 2016 Department of Special Investigation (DSI) "declared the case closed, saying no culprits have been found".[3]