A written statement submitted to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status

The Asian Legal Resource Center wishes to bring the importance of continued action to end enforced disappearance in Thailand to the attention of the Human Rights Council. While the signing of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance on 9 January 2012 by the Government of Thailand is a positive step, the Convention must be ratified and domestic laws must be passed and implemented if its provisions are to be made concrete. As disappearance is one form of violence routinely used by Thai state security forces with impunity against citizens, the opportunity to secure accountability represented by the ratification and full implementation of the Convention is significant.

The trial of Chiranuch Premchaiporn, the editor of the Prachatai news website, resumed before a Bangkok court on 14 February after a long interruption, with testimony being heard on 14, 15 and 16 February from five defence witnesses. At the end of yesterday’s hearing, the court announced that it would issue its verdict on 30 April.

A Statement from a group of Thai Human Rights NGOs

In pursuant to the arrest and prosecution of Mr. Somyot Pruksakasemsuk, labour activist and core members of the June 24 for Democracy and Editor of "Voice of Taksin" on the violation of Section 112 or lèse majesté law since 30 April 2011, and over the past ten months, his applications for temporary release have been turned down. Lately, Mr. Panithan Pruksakasemsuk, his son, has started a hunger strike to protest against the order of the Criminal Court to deny his father's bail though the request has been made seven times and sufficient deposit has been offered. His protest is aimed at demanding the right to temporary release of this father and the issue has been widely reported in media until now.

Today, I represent Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) here to express our solidarity with labour activist Somyot Pruksakasemsuk, who has been imprisoned without bail since 30 April 2011 and faced charges under lèse-majesté law.