Military tortured students

Military tortured us, claim students
Muslim students detained in a military camp in Pattani told families and friends they had been tortured.

Published on February 4, 2008

"They said someone had covered their heads with sacks before beating them. Their attackers wanted them to confess," said Hareedi Pohsu, vice secretary-general of Yala Students Federation.

Hareedi led the group to visit six students of Yala Rajabhai University and Institute of Physical Education Yala who had been detained at Inkhayuth military camp.

A group of plainclothes officials from Special Force Unit 11 searched the university's dormitories and arrested seven students who were accused of being involved in the insurgency on January 27.

They were taken to the military camp. Their captors also seized a computer CPU, computer notebook, a motorcycle and seven mobile phones from the students. Two more students were arrested on January 29.

"We were allowed to visit them on Thursday [January 31] and they told us about being tortured, speaking in Malay," Hareedi said.

Most of them had been forced to stand under the midday sun.

Kuyi Hitae, one of the students, told his family he had been beaten and forced to eat in the rain, said Wassamon Oon-anant of the Peace Witnessing Project who accompanied Kuyi's family to visit him at the camp.

Kuyi is a committee member of the Yala Students Federation.

"We saw the bruises on his arm when his mother lifted it up," she said.

Wassamon said officials in the camp didn't allow her to take photographs.

Kuyi also said he had been interrogated for six hours from 2pm to 8pm.

Meanwhile Colonel Acra Thiproj, spokesman for the Internal Security Operation Command - Fourth Area, told The Nation he was not aware they had been tortured.

He suggested the families of the students should petition the Fourth Army Area commander if they had evidence of such events.

Acra said he had been informed by the investigation that the students were former classmates from Thammawit-taya Islamic Private School and that four had been members of a militant organisation called Runda Kumpulan Kecil since 2003.

They confessed they had been involved in many violent cases, he added. The others were arrested and detained because they were together at the same place.

Officials found a device giving instructions on how to make a bomb but no one claimed ownership of the gadget, Acra said.

The Yala Students Federa-tion and human rights groups are helping families of the students to collect evidence and may file a lawsuit against those who committed human rights violations, said Hareedi.



Subhatra Bhumiprabhas

The Nation