Attacks on prisoners by outside forces, on 16th
and 17th May 2012
Searches were made throughout Bangkwang prison in
Nonthabure, on the evenings of 16th and 17th May. Bangkwang prison
is located in Nonthaburi, where those serving sentences over 30 years are held,
and those condemned to death. Reports told of beatings “without apparent
reason” carried out by a special masked unit.
The first attack on prisoners was made by a group of blue
uniformed persons wearing caps, identified by the prisoners as ‘police’. In the
floor on which our informant was detained there were about 20 prisoners, the
floor consisted of 24 such rooms of facing cells. At first they heard sounds of
beating, shouts, and screams. The assailants moved from room to room, apparently
carrying out beatings on every floor of every building. They carried batons and
numbered from fifty to a hundred or more. Prisoners were made to squat on the
floor while searches were carried out. Apart from the blue clad ‘police’, there
were ‘officials’ wearing white tea shirts, possibly military or corrections
department officials, and a special masked squad dressed in black. Attacks on
prisoners appeared to be random; they reported that one prisoner, a Thai citizen,
had been beaten to death, and another seriously injured, with a cracked skull,
when telephones were found in their bed area. Our informant was kicked on the
legs as he crouched on the ground. In another building an informant told us
that the prisoners were warned in advance by their own warders to hide
telephones, which they did by attaching them behind fans. Prisoners remarked
that if the search had been made by warders themselves these phones would have
easily been discovered. His account of the beatings corresponded to that of a
prisoner in a separate building for prisoners condemned to death. Beatings
carried out by masked assailants lasted about 90 minutes. A police man stood at
the door of each cell while the occupants were being beaten. On one occasion a
regular prison guard was heard calling for a doctor to come. On the following
morning he observed two prisoners showing extensive wounds on their backs.
In one account the prisoners were addressed the following
morning by a recently appointed prison governor, warning them that news of the
previous night’s events were not to spread outside the prison. However, warders
advised prisoners to tell their relatives during visits and called on them to
make complaints. It was clear that regular prison staff were against these
beatings by outside forces.
Reports in the Thai press report other “visits” by such a
mysterious unit in Nakhon Sri Thammarat prison. Authorities claimed the events
were to eliminate mobile telephones and drugs from the prison. They admitted
that prisoners were out of control of permanent staff who feared retaliation to
themselves and their families by outside contacts of prisoners who had
discovered their identities and domiciles.
From Bom Bak Phiset prison
An account of similar beatings has been received from
prisoners in Bam Bak prison in both Thai and English versions. The following is
the verbatim English version.
“Our Complaint to Foreign Embassies and to the Correctional
Department
On 9th May 2012 Thai correctional officers
conducted a raid on Building 9 of Bom Bak prison looking for “illegal
belongings”.
This search was completely different from all previous
searches carried out by the relevant authorities.
These officers used extreme violence and brutality and
threatening behaviour. They repeatedly hit, punched and kicked vulnerable
inmates who were all passive. Hundreds of victims required hospital treatment
after the cowardly assaults.
These actions are illegal under existing Thai law. This
leads to the question of why are high ranking Thai government officials
ordering such illegal and horrific orders.
Therefore the foreign prisoners of building 9 urgently
request that our embassies are informed of the truth about the illegal incidents
so that necessary steps can be taken to ensure their safety.
Thanking you for these considerations
Foreign
nationalities from building 9
Bom
Bat Piset”
The statement was signed by 95 foreign prisoners from 17
different countries. Doubtless Thai prisoners were afraid to sign.
Note: All prisons in Thailand are chronically
overcrowded and understaffed. It appears impossible for prison authorities to
prevent prisoners accessing mobile phones, drugs, and gambling paraphernalia.
Recently all gifts of food or other material brought by visitors have been
banned so that smuggling by corrupt officials is the only conduit. A mobile
phone inside the prison sells for ten times the outside price. Drugs appear to
be readily available.
The populations of the prisons mentioned above are:
Bangkwang; 4008
prisoners
Nakorn Sri Thammarat; 3,202 prisoners
Bombot Prison; 3912 prisoners
Department of Statistics 1st April 2012
