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88 Suspects Face Human Trafficking Charges in Bangkok Court

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Suspects with human trafficking charges arrive at the criminal court in Bangkok.

Suspects with human trafficking charges arrive at the criminal court in Bangkok.

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BANGKOK –  A Court in Bangkok saw 88 suspects in a Thai courtroom Tuesday to face charges of human trafficking, one a senior Thai Army General.

The defendants, including the senior general, were brought before a Bangkok court on Tuesday for examination of evidence and witnesses following a crackdown on Thailand’s lucrative smuggling syndicates.

“There are 500 witnesses in this case. Altogether it will take around 200 meetings to review witnesses which means examination will take two years,” a court official told reporters.


Female suspects allegedly involved in human trafficking of Rohingya migrants file into the Criminal Court in Bangkok

Female suspects allegedly involved in human trafficking of Rohingya migrants file into the Criminal Court in Bangkok


The investigation and arrests followed the discovery in May of 30 bodies in a grave near a human trafficking camp on a hillside deep in a jungle near the Thailand-Malaysia border, which sparked an international outcry.

However, some rights groups have questioned Thailand’s commitment to end the illegal trade following the resignation on the weekend of a senior policeman in the investigation.

Major General Paween Pongsirin, whose team led many of the arrests, said on Monday an order to transfer him to Thailand’s south would expose him to revenge by members of trafficking syndicates still at large.

Paween said he would disband his unit, raising concerns about protection for police officers.

“I am truly sorry about this,” Paween told reporters outside the court. “I still want to be a policeman and be useful to society.”


Thai senior army general Manas Kongpan (front) arriving at a criminal court in Bangkok

Thai senior army general Manas Kongpan (front) arriving at a criminal court in Bangkok


Earlier, another court official said the examination of witnesses was expected to take just four days, but this would next to impossible given the number involved.

Sunai Phasuk, Thailand researcher at Human Rights Watch, said examination of witnesses in the case could take more than two years.

“One thing is clear, this will be a drawn-out trial and witnesses must feel safe and protected,” Sunai told Reuters. “These are just some traffickers. There needs to be a follow-up investigation of others.”

Illegal migrants, many of them Rohingyas from eastern Myanmar and Bangladesh facing religious and ethnic persecution, often brave dangerous journeys by sea to reach Malaysia and Thailand. The migrants are often held for ransom in squalid detention camps and according to some accounts face torture and starvation.

The 88 suspects, who were brought to Bangkok in two buses, include two men who police have said are among the kingpins.

Despite the police crackdown, the US kept Thailand for a second year on Tier 3 – the lowest tier – in its annual Trafficking in Persons report in July for failing to comply with the minimum US standards for the elimination of trafficking.

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