Case History: Pianrat Boonrit
Members of SPFT have been targeted on numerous occasions in the past. On 16 March 2015, members of SPFT were intimidated, and six days before, information was received that SPFT member Mr Pianrat Boonrit had been placed on a surveillance list as an "influential person of interest" on the basis of alleged links to organised crime. In February 2015, SPFT member Mr Chai Bunthonglek was shot and killed at his home in Chaiburi District, Surat Thani Province, by an unknown man.
Pianrat Boonrit is the President of the Southern Peasants' Federation of Thailand – SPFT (Southern Peasant Cooperatives), a network formed in 2008 to campaign for the right to agricultural land in the Khlong Sai Pattana community in Chaiburi District, Surat Thani Province and other areas in the region. SPFT has been active in supporting the Premsub Community in a land dispute involving Thai Boonthong, an oil palm company. Reportedly, the disputed land belongs to the Agricultural Land Reform Office (ARLO), which in 2009 allowed the villagers to remain on the land until the resolution of the dispute, as the company’s concession for the territory had ended 15 years before. However, it is reported that the company continues to occupy the land and that the villagers are at ongoing risk of forced eviction.
On 22 May 2014 the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), led by General Prayuth Chan-ocha, seized power and abrogated the 2007 Constitution. The NCPO instituted an indefinite period of martial law which saw several HRDs and activists summoned for questioning. Many were made to sign a pledge not to participate in any activity of a ‘political nature’.
Martial law allowed the army to detain and interrogate anyone for up to seven days without providing evidence of wrongdoing or bringing formal charges. Scores of protesters and HRDs were arrested and held at irregular places of detention, including permanent or temporary military bases.
NCPO orders No. 97 and 103 restricted press freedom and banned interviews with former government officials, judges or academics whose statements might cause ‘public confusion’. Restrictions on freedom of expression through the use of the Computer Crime Act and the Lèse Majesté law – which have been repeatedly used to target political activists, HRDs and other independent voices – intensified after the coup.
In the most recent persecution of human rights defenders in Thailand on 25 March 2015, two cars - one in front and one behind - forced the car of SPFT members to stop at approximately 4:00pm. An unidentified man looked inside the SPFT members' car and then told his colleagues that the person that they were looking for was not in the vehicle. The SPFT members were then allowed to continue their journey.
Allegedly, a bounty of 300,000 Thai Baht (approximately €8600) has been offered for the killing of Pratheep Rakhanthong, as well as Mr Supot Kansong and Mr Theeranet Chaisuwan, who are also SPFT members and leaders of the Khlong Sai Pattana community. Theeranet Chaisuwan has made a number of formal complaints to the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand regarding the situation of the Khlong Sai Pattana community. Supot Kansong performs public awareness-raising and campaigning on social media regarding alleged human rights violations committed against the Khlong Sai Pattana community.
Members of SPFT have been targeted on numerous occasions in the past. On 16 March 2015, members of SPFT were intimidated, and six days before, information was received that SPFT member Mr Pianrat Boonrit had been placed on a surveillance list as an "influential person of interest" on the basis of alleged links to organised crime. In February 2015, SPFT member Mr Chai Bunthonglek was shot and killed at his home in Chaiburi District, Surat Thani Province, by an unknown man.
On 16 March 2015, at approximately 11:30 am, members of the Southern Peasant Federations of Thailand (SPFT) refused to sign a contract with the Thai military agreeing not to return to the Premsub Community in Surat Thani Province. Six days before, the organisation received information from a reliable source that the President of SPFT, Mr Pianrat Boonrit, had been placed on a surveillance list by the intelligence agencies in Thailand as an “influential person of interest” with ties to the mafia.
The Southern Peasants' Federation of Thailand – SPFT (Southern Peasant Cooperatives) is a network formed in 2008 to campaign for the right to agricultural land in the Khlong Sai Pattana community in Chaiburi District, Surat Thani Province and other areas in the region. SPFT has been active in supporting the Premsub Community in a land dispute involving Thai Boonthong, an oil palm company. Reportedly, the disputed land belongs to the Agricultural Land Reform Office (ARLO), which in 2009 allowed the villagers to remain on the land until the resolution of the dispute, as the company’s concession for the territory had ended 15 years before. However, it is reported that the company continues to occupy the land and that the villagers are at ongoing risk of forced eviction.
An officer from Vibhavadi Rangsit Military Camp and Chaiburi District, accompanied by approximately 40 members of the Volunteer Defense Corps, reportedly came to the Premsub Community and attempted to obtain the agreement of SPFT members to leave the territory and not to return. The members refused, declaring that access to the community is essential to their work defending land rights, and that they were willing to face arrest and attending an “attitude adjustment camp”. At the same time, the authorities presented the Premsub Community with a letter signed by the the Provincial Governor, dated 22 July 2014. The authorities claimed it required the community to leave the property within one day. The villagers were allegedly told that if they failed to leave, they would be arrested and taken to attend an “attitude adjustment camp” at the Vibhavadi Rangsit Military Camp.
Reportedly, on 12 March 2015, the Sub-Committee on Land Rights and Forestry of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand initiated an inquiry into the actions of authorities of Surat Thani Province, following the complaint submitted by members of SPFT regarding acts of intimidation, forced evictions and killing of four land rights activists in late February 2015, including Mr Chai Bunthonglek. Previously, Pianrat Boonrit was detained for two days after presenting himself to the military on 3 February 2015. He had received a letter summoning him to appear at the Vibhavadi Rangsit Military Camp in order to attend an “attitude adjustment camp” for three days.
On 3 February 2015, at approximately 10:00 am, Mr Pianrat Boonrit was detained after appearing at the Vibhavadi Rangsit Military Camp, Surat Thani Province, in response to a summons. The human rights defender was transferred the same day to the Surat Thani Army central prison, and reportedly was not informed of the period for which he would be detained. He is currently being held incommunicado.
On 1 February 2015, Pianrat Boonrit had received a letter from the military summoning him to present himself on 3 February 2015 in order to attend an “attitude adjustment camp” for three days. Reportedly, the summons stated that the Surat Thani army command was acting in compliance with the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), “in order to create a good environment conducive to returning happiness to the Thai people.”
Following Pianrat Boonrit's detention on 3 February 2015, at approximately 5:30 pm, members of the armed forces travelling in two military vehicles arrived at the Premsub community. They reportedly informed the villagers that they were under urgent orders to control the area.
