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    • Human rights groups say Thai soldiers tortured, killed Burmese migrant
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    Human rights groups say Thai soldiers tortured, killed Burmese migrant

    Pabio Posted on

    A human rights group has called on Thailand to fully investigate three soldiers over the ‘horrific’ death of a Burma migrant at the border earlier this year, claiming they tortured and beat him.

    Aung Ko Ko, 37, died after three soldiers and one Burma A national took him to an abandoned military bunker where they kicked him and beat him with a bamboo stick because he was wearing a neighborhood watch group uniform decorated with the Thai flag, said Fortify Rights said, citing eyewitnesses and legal documents.

    A Thai court in September sentenced Sirachuch, a Burmese, to five years in prison for complicity in the death of Aung Ko Ko, according to Strengthen rights and the defendant’s lawyer, who declined to comment further, citing the sensitivity of the matter.

    However, the police chief of Mae Sot, where Aung Ko Ko’s body was found, told Reuters that Sirachuch had not identified his accomplices.

    Soldiers stand next to military vehicles as people gather to protest the military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar, February 15, 2021. (credit: STRINGER/Reuters)

    “We fully followed the legal process but he did not name others,” said police Colonel Pittayakon Petcharat.

    Tensions between Thai police and migrants

    The case comes amid rising anti-migrant sentiment in Thailand since a 2021 coup in Myanmar plunged the country into chaos and sent many people fleeing across the border.

    The Army and Defense Department did not respond to a request for comment.

    Reuters could not independently verify these claims or reach Sirachuch for comment. Reuters sent him questions through his lawyer.

    In a statement, Matthew Smith, chief executive of Fortify Rights, said Thailand, as a new member of the United Nations Human Rights Council following its election in October, had an “increased responsibility to protect human rights”.

    “The horrific torture and murder of Aung Ko Ko cannot go unanswered,” he said.

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    Smith said he spoke to the country’s Department of Special Investigations (DSI) about the case in early November. The DSI did not respond to a request for comment.

    Anti-Burmese migrant sentiment is on the rise in Thailand, stoked by ultra-conservative political groups who say government regulation has been lax, leading to growing numbers of illegal migrants from Myanmar who they say have been granted social benefits for Thais.

    Aung Ko Ko’s close relative said he worked in construction and left Myanmar for better health care.

    “They didn’t have to kill him,” the relative said, through tears. “I feel very hurt. I want the culprits who killed him to be punished appropriately.”



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