Amnesty International: Thai human rights 'deteriorate'

Supporters of Amnesty International protest at the Thai embassy in Washington after the 2014 military coup. (File photo)

The government is still restricting people's human rights in a variety of ways, and is too keen on suppressing its critics, according to Amnesty International's annual report for 2016/2017 released Wednesday.

"The military authorities further restricted human rights" during the past year, the report said.

"Peaceful political dissent, whether through speech or protests, were punished or banned. Politicians and human rights activists faced criminal investigations and prosecutions."

It added: "Torture and other ill-treatment remained widespread."

It urged the government to take a more active approach in the protection of human rights.

It also said politicians and human rights activists were subjected to criminal investigations and prosecutions and were faced with legal retribution when disagreeing with the state, and condemned the instances when peaceful political dissent through speech or protests was punished or banned.

Responding to the report, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokesman Sek Wannamethee said it failed to fully address the development of the human rights situation in Thailand.

The government is following its roadmap to bring the country to democracy and would not be budged from that course.

The constitution drafting process and the national referendum on the draft charter in August 2016 was open for the public and parties to voice their opinions through many channels, he said.

"Thailand observes the importance of freedom of expression and respect for human rights according to international principles. However, law and order as well as the prevention of rifts in society must also be considered," he said.

People who are facing lese majeste charges are allowed to defend themselves according to due legal process and have the rights to be judged fairly, he said.

In regards to Amnesty International's call for Thailand to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, the MFA spokesman said Thailand signed in 2012, but related domestic legal processes are still in progress.

Amnesty International also urged the government to respect peaceful rallies in the interests of freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of movement.

Human rights defender Anchana Heemmina further asked the government to recognise and protect human rights defenders instead of using the law to prosecute them.

"The first thing is to withdraw the cases [of human rights] taken against critics, or not intimidate, or not arrest them and detain them in military camps," she said.

The group also wants to ban the use of torture in Thailand and urged the government to use alternative means to find evidence for cases instead of trying to get those under investigation to confess.