Thai soldiers tortured and killed Myanmar migrant, rights group says

BANGKOK — 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.

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"We have followed the legal process fully but he did not name others," Police Colonel Pittayakon Petcharat said.

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.

The army and the defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment. 

Reuters could not independently verify the claims or reach Sirachuch for comment. Reuters sent questions to him via his lawyer.

In a statement, Fortify Rights' Chief Executive Officer Matthew Smith said Thailand, as an incoming member of the United Nations Human Rights Council after it was elected in October, had a "heightened responsibility to protect human rights".

"The horrific torture and killing of Aung Ko Ko cannot be allowed to go unanswered," he said.

Smith said he spoke to the country's Department of Special Investigations (DSI) in early November about the case. The DSI did not respond to a request for comment.

Anti-Myanmar migrant sentiment has been on the rise in Thailand, stoked by ultra-conservative political groups who say government regulation has been lax leading to a rising number of illegal Myanmar migrants who they say obtained social benefits meant for Thais.

Aung Ko Ko's close relative said he was a construction worker and had left Myanmar to seek better healthcare.

"They didn't have to kill him," the relative said, through tears. "I feel very hurt. I want those culprits who killed [him] to have suitable punishment."

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