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"Rogue" Police abducted lawyer, says Thaksin


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From the Straights Times (Singapore)

 

Police abducted lawyer, says Thaksin

 

Admission about missing Muslim activist comes after weeks of denying government was involved

 

BANGKOK - A Muslim activist lawyer who was defending nine suspected Islamic militants had been kidnapped by rogue policemen, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has said.

 

The announcement was the clearest indication yet that the state could be involved in the lawyer's disappearance and possible death.

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'Initial investigations show that he was abducted by police from the central part (of Thailand), but I cannot say which division or department,' Mr Thaksin told reporters.

 

He held out an assurance that the case would be resolved within a week.

 

Mr Somchai Neelahphaijit, 52, was last seen on March 12 at a Bangkok hotel. His abandoned car was later found in a nearby province, but there was no sign of the lawyer.

 

For weeks, the government had denied that the state was involved, and Mr Thaksin suggested that marital discord could be the reason.

 

But human rights groups and Muslim activists in the south alleged that Mr Somchai had been abducted and killed by police, possibly because of his outspoken criticism of police and military tactics in the south, where violence has increased lately.

 

Yesterday, a court issued arrest warrants for four policemen, including two senior officers, for alleged involvement in his mysterious disappearance.

 

The court action followed more than three hours of discussion between police and the judge, who believed there were enough grounds for arrests, said a police official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

 

All have been charged with gang robbery and coercion through threat of death or bodily harm, he said.

 

Yesterday, the Deputy Prime Minister stepped up pressure on the police in Thailand's restive south, labelling them the root cause of the current unrest.

 

Mr Chaturon Chaisang said the violence in the Muslim-majority region, which had claimed up to 60 lives since January, would not end until police stopped mistreating Muslims.

 

The most important thing to end the violence 'is that police stop the killings, kidnappings and torture, and withdraw all officers who have been sent from Bangkok', he told reporters.

 

'We cannot let the killing and torture continue because local people are suffering and are being terrorised,' Mr Chaturon said.

 

Meanwhile, amid growing criticism of his administration, Mr Thaksin hinted that he could dissolve the House before its first four-year term ends early next year.

 

For the first time, he said he could not confirm now that there would be no dissolution of the House, Thai media reported.

 

Earlier, he had said he would never dissolve the House early.

 

Apart from the problems in the restive south, Mr Thaksin's government has also come in for criticism because of prolonged protests against its privatisation plans. -- AP, AFP

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