The Narathiwat Provincial Court has issued a warrant for the arrest of Gen Pisan Wattanawongkiri, a Pheu Thai MP and former commander of the 4th Army Region, to stand trial on charges related to the Tak Bai massacre about two decades ago.
According to the Cross Cultural Foundation, the court issued the warrant on Tuesday, after the lawyer for the families of the massacre victims asked the court to have him apprehended on a suspicion that Gen Pisan may try to flee the country.
Last month, the court issued warrants for the arrests of six other defendants, after they refused to show up for trial.
The six defendants are Maj-Gen Chaleomchai Viroonpetch, former commander of the 5th Infantry Division, Pol Lt-Gen Wongkot Maneejan, former director of operations centre of the Royal Thai Police, Pol Lt-Gen Manoj Kraiwong, former commissioner of Region 9 Provincial Police, Pol Maj-Gen Saksommai Phuthakul, former superintendent at Tak Bai police station, Siwa Saengmanee, former deputy director of Southern Border Provinces Peace Centre, and former Narathiwat governor Wichom Thongsong.
All seven defendants must be brought before the court by October 25, otherwise the case will be dismissed due to the expiry of the statute of limitations.
78 Thai Muslims died of suffocation after being piled up several layers deep on trucks to move them from Tak Bai district of Narathiwat to the Ingkhayut army barracks in Pattani province on October 25, 2004.
