The Court of Appeal overturned the conviction of Pol. Maj. Ngern Thongsuk due to insufficient evidence in the case of enforced disappearance and presumed murder of human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit (photo).
On 11th March 2011, the Court of Appeals rendered a verdict acquitting all five police officers accused of abducting, killing and “disappearing” prominent Muslim lawyer, Somchai Neelapaijit. This decision has important consequences not only for the Somchai case itself, but for broader issues of justice, human rights and rule of law in Thailand. The Justice for Peace Foundation (JPF) and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) will be holding a public event to examine key legal and political issues concerning this case, from 12:00 – 15:00 on 17th March at the FCCT. The event will be in Thai and English, with simultaneous translation. It will feature a film of Somchai’s last public speech the night before his enforced disappearance, followed by speakers:
Their brief presentations will be followed by an extended question-and-answer session. Complimentary refreshments will be served.
Thailand-judgement Somchai Neelapajit case-agenda-2011-eng (full text in English, PDF)
Thailand-judgement Somchai Neelapajit case-agenda-2011-tha (full text in Thai, PDF)
Seven years after the arrest and killing of Maina Sunuwar, the Government of Nepal should take immediate steps to ensure that criminal proceedings move forward, the ICJ and other Human Rights groups said today.
Advocacy Forum (AF), Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the ICJ express their solidarity with Maina’s family, and call on the Nepali authorities to immediately transfer Major Niranjan Basnet to the Kavre District Court where he has been charged with murder, and arrest Babi Khatri, Sunil Prasad Adhikari and Amit Pun who have all been implicated in her death.
That Maina’s family is still waiting for justice for her killing, as in so many cases of crimes during the armed conflict, suggests that the realization of victims’ right to a judicial remedy for serious crimes remains a distant dream in Nepal.
Nepal-MainaSunuwar-news-2011 (full text, PDF)
The International Commission of Jurists, with FORUM-ASIA and NNC-UPR, cordially invite you to a parallel event to the 10th Session of the Universal Periodic Review on “Background to the Human Rights Crisis in Nepal: Impunity for Human Rights Violations”.
Nepal-humanrightsviolations-news-2011 (full text, PDF)
The ICJ and other human rights groups submitted their comments to the Steering Committee on Human Rights (CDDH) at its meeting in November 2010.
Europe-guidelines-impunity-advocacy-2010 (full text, PDF)
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