JURIST - Paper Chase: Amnesty International accuses Thai troops of torture in Muslim south

[JURIST] Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] Wednesday accused [press release] Thai security forces of using "harsh or inadaquate counter-measures" in their response to Islamist/separatist terror attacks in the southern provinces of the predominantly-Buddist country. According to AI, the Thai government has allowed troops to arbitrarily detain terrorist suspects, often without access to a lawyer or interpreter, and has failed to prevent the use of torture and "excessive lethal force" in their campaign to end the violence that has claimed over 1000 lives since 2004. The government declared martial law in the area in January 2004, initially blaming street gangs and criminal elements for attacks including a bombing of a Buddhist temple [BBC report], arson attacks on schools [UNICEF report], and the killing of 21 police officers in 2005. Read more about the Thailand Islamic insurgency [GlobalSecurity.org backgrounder]. The Financial Times has more.

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