Bitte_Kein_Lexus wrote: ↑Tue Jun 09, 2020 9:21 pm They're also not exactly "hot on the heels" of the abductors by agreeing to start an investigation days after the initial kidnapping.

I agree. Launching an investigation officially is just for show. I believe it will lead the head investigator to a vending machine and at some point, some shade for napping.

Wanchalearm fate riles activists
New disappearance case is increasing calls for the passage of a law that gives families of the missing redress through the courts
22 Jun 2020 at 06:11

Two weeks have gone by, but the fate of activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit who was abducted near his apartment in Phnom Penh on June 4 remains cloaked in mystery.

Cambodian police said in early June they would investigate the disappearance of the self-exiled Thai activist, and the Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry has asked its embassy in Phnom Penh to gather information. Relatives of Mr Wanchalearm, a staunch critic of the Thai government, have demanded it step in and investigate.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes activity is stepping up in parliament among political parties and civic groups as they lobby for passage of a bill which would outlaw enforced disappearances and provide remedies to affected families, including the ability to take legal action against the state.

Advocates say the need for a bill cracking down on such activity has intensified following Mr Wanchalearm's disappearance. But if the stakes are increasing for passage of such a measure in the House, human rights defenders are starting to wonder whether the government will ultimately get behind the measure.

Human rights defender Angkhana Neelapaijit is backing a civil society version of a bill addressing forced disappearances, though a rival version by the Justice Ministry is also being vetted, having been through many revisions since it was first presented to legislators in 2016.

Thailand signed the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED) in 2012, but has yet to ratify the agreement or enforce it in domestic law. The UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances has reported 82 unresolved cases of enforced disappearance in Thailand since 1980.

In an interview with the Bangkok Post, Ms Angkhana, wife of disappeared lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit, said she has battled to get the law for more than 10 years. The lack of a law, she said, can be an obstacle in seeking justice.

''The court didn't allow my family to represent my husband [in court] because there is no evidence he was hurt or killed even though everybody, including [former prime minister] Thaksin Shinawatra, believes he died."
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1938780/

A video, a face, a car, a plate number, and nothing ?

We've seen less evidence leading to swifter arrests before....

Ghostwriter wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 10:36 pm A video, a face, a car, a plate number, and nothing ?

We've seen less evidence leading to swifter arrests before....

Frankly, I think the whole kidnap gang were back over the border to Thailand before the Cambodians even acknowledged that something illegal might have happened. The borders are all closed, but that 's a minor detail between friends.

The scary thing is that the whole operation was so brazen. There was not even a serious attempt at a cover up. As you say, the evidence is all there, and everyone "knows" who is responsible, but the Thais are not going to arrest their own men, so there's little hope for justice.
A body will wash up somewhere eventually, and there will be some declarations about human rights, and some wagging of fingers at the Thai junta. Rince and repeat.

Amnesty urges HE to probe Wanchalearm’s abduction as sister pleads for his return “dead or alive”
By The Nation -
July 7, 2020

Amnesty International Thailand called on Cambodian Prime Minister HE to ensure “timely investigation of the abduction” of government critic Wanchalearm Satsaksit, in an event titled “One Month of finding the truth”, organised by the human rights organsation and the Satsaksit Family at Angoon Children’s Park in Bangkok’s Wattana district on Saturday (July 4) to mark the one-month anniversary since Wanchalearm disappeared in Cambodia.

In full: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30390851

Cambodian authorities deny knowledge of Thai activist’s disappearance
Submitted on Sun, 19 Jul 2020 - 11:34 PM
Prachatai

The Cambodian authorities have denied any knowledge about the disappearance of Thai activist in exile Wanchalearm Satsaksit, claiming that Wanchalearm did not make any further visa renewal request after his visa expired on 31 December 2017, and that no Cambodian agencies have any additional information about his disappearance other than what has appeared in news reports.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that Sitanun Satsaksit, Wanchalearm’s sister, received a letter on 15 July informing her of the progress of the request made by the Committee on Enforced Disappearances on 10 June for the Cambodian authorities to take immediate and urgent action regarding Wanchalearm’s disappearance.

The Cambodian authorities responded to the request by stating that they have investigated Wanchalearm’s disappearance and found that he travelled to Cambodia several times between 2014 and 2015. His last entry into Cambodia was on 19 October 2015, but he did not make any further visa renewal request after his visa expired on 31 December 2017. The Cambodian authorities also stated that no relevant Cambodian agencies have any knowledge or lead on Wanchalearm’s disappearance other than what has already been reported by the media and that they are in the process of conducting further investigations.
https://prachatai.com/english/node/8662

Two months on...no further information, but rumours of death on social media.

Cambodian embassy slams door on family of missing Wanchalearm
Aug 11. 2020
By THE NATION
The family of Wanchalearm Satsaksit and Amnesty International (AI) representatives today visited the Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok to seek information on the enforced disappearance of the Thai activist, on the occasion of his 38th birthday.

Piyanut Kotsan, AI Thailand director, said more than two months had passed since Wanchalearm disappeared but Thai and Cambodian authorities had made no progress in finding him.

Wanchalearm was abducted outside his Phnom Penh apartment by unknown men on June 4. He was the latest in a string of Thai political activists “disappeared” abroad since the coup of 2014, some of whom have later been found dead. His case has been taken up by anti-government protesters, but last week the hashtag #RIPWanchalearm began trending on social media amid rumours he was dead.

The Cambodian Embassy rebuffed AI and Wanchalearm family’s request to meet with Cambodian ambassador Ouk Sorphorn and refused to receive a petition signed by more than 5,000 people demanding action on the case from Cambodia, Asean states, the US, the UK, Australia, and others.

The petition also calls on Cambodia to meet its obligations as a state party to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
https://www.nationthailand.com/news/303 ... l_referral

Imprint of Abducted Thai Activist Begins to Fade From Neighborhood
5 min read

Danielle Keeton-Olsen and Ouch Sony
| Fri Sep 4, 2020 5:17 pm

Three months after a Thai activist was allegedly abducted from outside a Chroy Changvar district apartment, neighbors say other Thai regulars who used to be seen in the area are no longer around, while apartment management denies the man had even lived there.

Wanchalearm Satsaksit, a 38-year-old dissident known for his satire and criticism of Thailand’s military regime, was allegedly abducted just before 6 p.m. on June 4, according to witness testimony collected by New York-based Human Rights Watch. Witnesses told the group that the pro-democracy activist, who had lived in exile in Cambodia since 2014, was returning from buying food outside his apartment in Chroy Changvar district’s Mekong Gardens condominium building when he was restrained and taken away in a black car.

Cambodian authorities have maintained that they have no leads in the case. National Police spokesperson Chhay Kim Khoeun told VOD last month that authorities found no record that Wanchalearm was living in the condominium, and the vehicle caught in surveillance tapes had an unregistered license. No other witnesses had come forward after their initial investigation, Kim Khoeun said.

Around the twin tower condominiums on Thursday, workers and residents were hesitant to talk about the man who was kidnapped in front of their homes, and most declined to give their names. Many said they were not worrying that a former resident was abducted three months ago.

Sokha Phal, a restaurant owner who opened up a shop a few doors away from the condominium about one month before the alleged abduction, said there should still be leads.

“It shouldn’t be hard to find [the suspect] — there are several cameras in every shop,” he said. Phal said he had not witnessed the incident himself.

A 22-year-old employee at a nearby store, who declined to be named for fear of harassment, said she had seen Wanchalearm stop in to buy goods, quick to smile but often alone. She said it was her day off when the Thai activist was arrested. There used to be other Thai nationals who came to her shop, but she had not seen any since Wanchalearm was abducted.

“Most people here don’t want to say anything,” she said. “Even if they know, they are afraid they [will be accused of] fake news.”

A security guard at Mekong Gardens said there had been four or five Thai residents living in the condo at the time that Wanchalearm was abducted, but they had all moved out since then.
https://vodenglish.news/imprint-of-abdu ... ghborhood/