Thai police threaten Amnesty researchers with arrest

Amnesty cancelled the launch of a report into torture in Thailand after authorities threatened to arrest the speakers, the human rights organization said Wednesday.

Four researchers, including representatives from London, were met by Labor Ministry officials and police who threatened them with arrest under labor laws, an Amnesty International spokesman said.

"The authorities said to us that... if any representatives from Amnesty International spoke at the event they would be in violation of Thailand's labor laws," spokesman Omar Waraich said. "They did not specify further."

Thai police did not immediately comment.

The group was due to unveil a damning report that criticizes Thailand's military government of allowing a "culture of torture" to flourish since the army seized power in a 2014 coup.

Since the military takeover, dozens of government critics have been held in military detention, although the exact number has not been disclosed. Political rallies have also been banned and scores of people have been detained.

Amnesty researchers cited allegations of beatings, smothering with plastic bags, waterboarding and electric shocks on detainees by police and military authorities.

"Empowered by laws of their own making, Thailand's military rulers have allowed a culture of torture to flourish, where there is no accountability for the perpetrators and no justice for the victims," said Rafendi Djamin, Amnesty's director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific in a statement.

The Thai government denies the accusations contained in the report, which has been released on Amnesty's website.

"Our investigations into such allegations have shown no indication of torture, I have seen no indication of torture and the Thai people have seen no indication of torture," Sansern Kaewkamnerd, a spokesman in the Prime Minister's Office told the Reuters news agency.

Thailand has also come under fire in May at a United Nations review of its rights record with some member states expressing concern over the rights situation.

jar/kl (AFP, Reuters, dpa)