Thai soldiers tortured and killed Myanmar migrant, rights group says

15/11/2024 17:41

        A human rights group called on Thailand to fully investigate three soldiers for the "horrific" death of a Myanmar migrant on the border earlier this year, saying they had tortured and beaten the man.
        
        Aung Ko Ko, 37, died after three soldiers and a Myanmar national brought him to an abandoned military bunker where they kicked and beat him with a bamboo stick for wearing the uniform of a neighbourhood watch group adorned with the Thai flag, Fortify Rights said, citing eye witnesses and legal documents.
        
        A Thai court convicted the Myanmar man, Sirachuch, in September to five years in prison for being an accomplice to Aung Ko Ko's death, according to Fortify Rights and the defendant's lawyer, who declined to comment further, citing the sensitivity of the case.
        
        However, the police chief in Mae Sot, where Aung Ko Ko's body was found, told Reuters Sirachuch had not identified his accomplices.
        
        The case comes amid rising anti-migrant sentiment in Thailand since a coup in Myanmar in 2021 plunged the country into chaos and sent many people fleeing across the border.