'In Thailand, torture has many contexts'

DW: Why didn't the authorities allow you to hold the press conference?

Yuval Ginbar: Moments before the start of the conference, officials from the Ministry of Labor came to us and said that the foreigners were not allowed to speak. They said we would be breaching Thai labor laws and could be arrested or even prosecuted.

Our lawyer advised us not to go ahead with the press conference. We did launch the report though, but not the way we would have liked.

Did the government officials explain as to why they didn't want the foreigners to speak at the event?

They seemed to imply that the foreigners needed a work permit to speak in public. We are on a business visa, and our business is to promote human rights. The government knows about the purpose of our visit. But I think the junta doesn't like to be criticized. It obviously wanted to muzzle the criticism.

What are the major findings of your report?

We find that torture is happening in a variety of contexts in Thailand. We visited the country's southern region and interviewed people who were interrogated by the army. In Bangkok, we talked to the political activists. We looked into the treatment of people who are in jails. We analyzed the situation of migrant workers, drug users, and the members of the minority communities.

In Thailand, the army and police consider themselves untouchables. The country's investigative system is flawed. The judges don't order investigations into torture, yet, at times they accept confessions obtained by torture as evidence.

What are your recommendations to the government?

Thailand is a signatory to the UN convention against torture. The government promised the Human Rights Council last week that it would also adopt the optional protocol which allows national preventive mechanisms against torture. So there are positive moves, but they are more ceremonious at this stage.

Our report recommends simple steps that Thai authorities can take to effectively address the legal and institutional shortcomings that enable torture. These include ending unaccountable detention, criminalizing torture, banning the use of "evidence" obtained by torture and other ill-treatment, investigating reports of torture and bringing those responsible to justice, creating an independent monitoring body to carry out oversight of detention facilities, and providing remedies to victims.