BANGKOK, OCT 15 – All seven Thai genocide defendants, including a former ruling party lawmaker, today missed their last scheduled court date before their trial deadline.
Their absence from the trial in Narathiwat means that no one will be charged over the Tak Bai incident, in which 85 people were killed on October 25, 2004, unless they surrender or are arrested within the next 10 days.
The 20-year statute of limitations expires next week and relatives of victims have expressed outrage, vowing to fight for the death penalty.
Seven people were shot dead when security forces opened fire on a crowd of protesters outside a police station in Narathiwat, one of Thailand’s 100-year-old Muslim-majority southern provinces.
Meanwhile, another 78 were killed after they were arrested.
It remains the deadliest day in the decades-long protest by Malay-Muslims against Thai colonial rule, which continues to this day. – AFP
