10 November 2005
IFEX MEMBERS URGE PROBE INTO JOURNALIST'S MURDER
Questions are being raised about the motive behind the murder of Thai newspaper publisher Santi Lamaneenil, whose bullet-riddled body was found outside the beach resort of Pattaya on 2 November 2005, report the Southeast Asian Press Alliance, the Thai Journalists Association (TJA), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
Santi, 38, was found blindfolded in the back of his car with multiple gunshot wounds to the head. Initial autopsy reports showed that he had been dead for about 10 hours.
Santi owned the local newspaper "Pattaya Post" and was a freelance contributor to Channel 7 television and newspapers including "Khaosod" and "Khom Chad Luek".
Santi had recently reported on a local prostitution ring that allegedly involved police officers, five of whom were transferred after the story was published, note SEAPA, IFJ and RSF. Santi?s wife told police that he had often stayed with various relatives in recent months because he feared for his safety.
Police say his murder could be related to his reporting, but they have not ruled out other motives, including Santi's gambling debts or an extramarital affair.
Santi was not the first journalist to be killed in Thailand this year, says RSF.
In February, Pongkiat Saetang was gunned down in the southern city of Had Yai. As the editor of the bi-weekly newspaper "Had Yai Post", he was known for criticising local figures.
In June, another journalist, Manop Rattanacharungporn, was seriously wounded in a murder attempt in the city of Phangnga. He had been reporting for the daily newspaper "Matichon" about the illegal appropriation of state land.
Visit these links:
- SEAPA: http://www.seapabkk.org/newdesign/newsdetail.php?No=408
- CPJ: http://www.cpj.org/news/2005/Thai03nov05na.html
- RSF: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=15504
- RSF Letter to Thailand's Prime Minister: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=15547
- IFJ: http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?Index=3504&Language=EN
- TJA: http://www.tja.or.th/
RSS