The International Secretariat of Amnesty International United Kingdom urged supporters and human rights activists around the world to send letters to Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of Cambodia, calling for an immediate investigation behind the disappearance of Wanchalearm Satsaksit, a Thai activist who was in exile in Cambodia.
The details of the announcement are copied below:
“Wanchalearm Satsaksit, a Thai activist in exile, was reportedly abducted by unknown persons from outside his apartment building in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. A known dissident in Thailand, who often exercised his right to freedom of expression online in exile, Thai authorities issued a warrant for his arrest in 2018. Wanchalearm Satsaksit is among nine Thai activists who sought exile in neighbouring countries that have gone missing in recent years. Two of them are confirmed to have been killed. Cambodian authorities must thoroughly and effectively investigate his disappearance and seek to establish his whereabouts, as provided by the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.”
Supporters can take action by writing their own appeal or use Amnesty’s model letter.
The non-governmental organization also called on Cambodian authorities to:
- Investigate and inform the victim’s family on the exact whereabouts of Wanchalerm
- Bring in the suspects involved in his kidnapping for a fair trial by the civil court and to refrain from using the death penalty against those people
- Call on Cambodia to comply with the provisions of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, in which Cambodia as a state is a member
- To not send Wanchalerm back to Thailand, complying with the obligation that authorities of state must not send refugees back to places at risk of human rights violations
This campaign will run until July 28, 2020.
Those interested in signing the appeal letter with Amnesty International: follow this link.
