Statement on the Judicial Harassment of Leading Human Rights Defender, Ms. Pornpen
Khongkachonkiet
We, the undersigned civil society groups, are gravely concerned about the criminal legal action
taken for defamation and libel against the Cross Cultural Foundation, headed by Ms. Pornpen
Khongkachonkiet, by the Army’s Task Force 41. Ms. Pornpen, Director of the Cross Cultural
Foundation – an organization which monitors and documents cases of torture and ill-treatment in
Thailand – received a police warrant on Sunday 24th August 2014. The Thai Royal Police
warrant is dated from 8th August. Major General Leekit Katchodnok, acting on behalf of the
Army’s Task Force 41, filed a legal suit against Ms. Pornpen for libel and defamation. The army
accuses the Cross Cultural Foundation for damaging the reputation of the army by publishing an
open letter exposing a claim to torture. According to the warrant Ms. Pornpen must present
herself at the Yala Police Station, in southern Thailand, on August 25th.
Ms. Pornpen is a leading Human Rights Defender in Thailand who has been involved in various
Human Rights issues both in Thailand and the region, including women’s rights, indigenous
rights and preventing forced disappearances. Her work serves the public interest by ensuring that
authorities are held accountable and pressuring authorities to unconditionally respect the Human
Rights of all. As Director of the Cross Cultural Foundation, Ms. Pornpen has constantly been
monitoring and documenting cases of torture and Human Rights violations in Thailand’s
southernmost provinces.
We deem the army’s action to be an unreasonable, arbitrary and heavy handed attempt to silence
all torture complaints against authorities. By quashing Ms. Pornpen’s efforts to support torture
victims to publicly complain about Human Rights violations by authorities, the army is seeking
to make it more than impossible for torture victims to voice their complaints. Moreover, this is a
deplorable act by the army as it aims to further intimidate existing and potential victims of
human rights violations to not report these violations. Instead of suppressing the work of Human
Rights Defenders, such as Ms. Pornpen, the army should investigate all torture complaints and
take all necessary measures to resolve the problem of continuing Human Rights violations.
This judicial harassment constitutes a direct infringement of Ms. Pornpen’s right to work as a
leading Human Rights Defender in Thailand. As stated in Article 1 of the UN Declaration on
Human Rights Defenders “Everyone has the right to (individually and in association with others)
promote and to strive for the realization of Human Rights and fundamental freedoms at the
national and international level.” We believe that the filing of this criminal legal case against Ms.
Pornpen was undertaken with the purpose of intimidation and that it is in response to Ms.
Pornpen’s peaceful and legitimate activities to hold authorities to account for cases of Human
Rights violations, including torture, in southern Thailand.
We call on the army to:
Immediately and unconditionally withdraw the legal action against Ms. Pornpen. Such legal
action against the legitimate work of Human Rights Defenders is against the public interest.