Thai court accepts lawsuit against security personnel over deaths of 85 protesters

By Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A Thai court on Friday accepted a criminal lawsuit against seven senior security personnel over their alleged roles in the deaths two decades ago of 85 Muslim protesters, most of whom suffocated while piled on top of each other in army trucks.

According to a lawyer in the case and human rights group Amnesty International, the military and police officers are accused of murder and unlawful detention over their handling of the 2004 protest in the town of Tak Bai, an incident that drew international condemnation and added fuel to an insurgency in Thailand's predominantly Muslim provinces near Malaysia.

"The court process could provide justice to the victims and their family and the community that have suffered from the deadly crackdown," Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, one of the lawyers for the families of 48 of the victims, told Reuters.

Pornpen said the court would summon the accused on Sept. 12.

The high-profile Tak Bai incident dogged then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the case implicates former regional army commander Pisan Wattanawongkiri, who is now a lawmaker for Thaksin's Pheu Thai Party.

The court's acceptance of the case, for which the statute of limitations expires on Oct. 25, comes just days after Thaksin's daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra was confirmed as prime minister.

Pisan and the other six people named in the lawsuit could not immediately be reached for comment.

Thailand's government at the time expressed regret at the Tak Bai deaths but denied wrongdoing, while police had initially said some protesters were armed.

The crackdown in Tak Bai in the province of Narathiwat occurred when it was under martial law and was one of the deadliest incidents during a separatist insurgency that re-ignited that same year and has since killed more than 7,600 people.

Seven people were shot dead by security forces when protesters gathered outside Tak Bai police station to demand the release of detained villagers.

Scores of people were detained and tied up and 78 suffocated or were crushed to death while stacked on top of each other and transported to an army camp. Many survivors suffered severe injuries and permanent disabilities.

Amnesty International said the court's acceptance of the case was an important first step in delivering justice.

"The victims and their loved ones have spent almost two decades waiting for justice and accountability for the heinous crimes committed," it said in a statement.

(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Martin Petty)