Thai military under fire over alleged torture of a man in Pattani

PHOTO: Pattani United Liberation Organisation president Mr. Kasturi Mahkota

An apparently healthy man, taken to a military camp in the Thai southern province of Pattani for interrogation on Sunday night, has ended up in the provincial hospital’s intensive care unit with brain swelling.

The Pattani United Liberation Organisation is condemning the Thai military over the incident.

Kasturi Mahkota, PULO president, says that he was shocked when he learned of the condition of Abdullah Isa-Musa, a Muslim resident of Sai Buri district of Pattani, after he was arrested by military personnel and taken to Ingkayut camp.

“Once again we are shocked by the news that affects the hearts of the Pattani people over the constant inhumane Thai acts, as if we were their prey, as yesterday happened to Mr. Abdullah Isa-Musa.

Meanwhile, it’s been reported that Pattani police went visited the camp yesterday to investigate the allegations and asked to look at the CCTV footage of the victim’s interrogation. They were told by an army officer, that the CCTV system was out of order.

A doctor at the hospital says there were no traces on the victim’s body that would suggest that he was beaten, nor there was their fluid in his lungs, but he says the victim was suffering from a swollen brain, which might have been caused by prolonged suffocation.

“Mr. Isa-Musa, a healthy man, was taken for questioning at Ingkayut army camp, but ended up being admitted to the ICU in Pattani hospital,” said the PULO president.

An official complaint has been lodged with the district police by the victim’s family.

SOURCE: Thai PBS