On 20 December 2024, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) submitted a communication to the United Nations (UN) Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) [1] concerning the enforced disappearance of exiled Thai political activist Surachai Danwattananusorn.
Bangkok, Paris, 23 December 2024. Surachai’s enforced disappearance occurred in the context of efforts by Thai authorities to persecute dissidents who fled to neighboring countries following the military coup d’état in Thailand on 22 May 2014. Among the dissidents in exile, Thai authorities have been particularly active in pursuing critics of the Thai monarchy and Article 112 of Thailand’s Criminal Code (lèse-majesté). In addition to Surachai, at least six other Thai dissidents - Ittiphon Sukpaen, Wuthipong Kachathamakul, Siam Theerawut, Chucheep Chivasut, Kritsana Thapthai, and Wanchalearm Satsaksit - are known to have disappeared in Thailand’s neighboring countries between 2016 and 2020. All of them were charged with violations of Article 112 of the Criminal Code and had arrest warrants issued against them. The fate or whereabouts of these six remain unknown to date.
"The unresolved enforced disappearance of Surachai is emblematic of the ongoing trend of transnational repression against peaceful activists in Southeast Asia. The only type of cooperation the governments of Laos and Thailand should entertain is to investigate cross-border enforced disappearances, end impunity for these serious crimes, determine the fate and whereabouts of the missing activists, and deliver justice to the victims", said FIDH Vice-President Fatia Maulidiyanti.
Surachai was last seen on 12 December 2018 at the house where he was living in Tha Ngon Village, Vientiane Prefecture, Laos. Surachai’s aides, fellow Thai activists Kraidej Luelert and Chatchan Bubphawan, who were living with Surachai, also disappeared on the same day. Attempts made by the family members of the three to contact them by phone in the following days and weeks were unsuccessful.
On 27 and 29 December 2018, the bodies of two men were found on the banks of the Mekong River, at two separate locations in Nakhon Phanom Province, Thailand. The bodies were wrapped in thick sacks and nets and tied up with nylon ropes. They appeared to be handcuffed, disemboweled, and stuffed with concrete. Subsequent forensic examinations determined that the body found on 27 December was Chatchan and the body found on 29 December was Kraidej. However, the fate and whereabouts of Surachai remain unknown to date.
Since 2019, Surachai’s wife, Pranee Danwattananusorn, has submitted three complaints and at least seven letters/petitions to relevant Thai authorities, calling for investigations into his disappearance. In response to these complaints, there were no meaningful actions by competent Thai authorities, and the government has failed to carry out proper investigations to search for Surachai or determine his fate and whereabouts, including through collaborating with the Lao government.
FIDH and TLHR are not aware of any investigations conducted by Lao authorities into the enforced disappearance of Surachai or the deaths of Chatchan and Kraidej.
FIDH and TLHR urge the Lao government to determine the fate or whereabouts of Surachai and all other individuals who have been subjected to enforced disappearance in Laos. They also urge the government to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED).
FIDH and TLHR also urge the Thai government to step up efforts to determine Surachai’s fate and whereabouts and to provide adequate assistance to the families of Surachai, Chatchan, and Kraidej in their pursuit of truth, justice, and accountability.
Background
Born in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Surachai, 81, is a writer, former activist with the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), former political prisoner, and Thai monarchy critic.
Surachai fled to Cambodia with his aide Kraidej Luelert (also known as Comrade Kasalong) to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on 20 May 2014, the day the Thai military declared martial law nationwide. Two days later, the Thai military seized power in a coup d’état.
Surachai decided to flee Thailand to avoid prosecution and likely detention on politically motivated criminal charges brought against him, including one under Article 112 of Thailand’s Criminal Code.
Surachai and Kraidej stayed in an apartment in Phnom Penh until July 2014, when they decided to leave for Vientiane, Laos, where they lived until their disappearance. Before his disappearance, Surachai also lived with Chatchan Bubphawan (also known as Comrade Phu Chana), a fellow UDD supporter, who fled Thailand to Laos in May 2014 after the military coup d’état.
