By: Lindsay Murdoch, Phuket
SMH
Date: August 8, 2012 - 6:40PM
Two Thai criminals have been sentenced to the equivalent of 100 years' imprisonment for the murder of Australian travel agent Michelle Smith on the Thai resort island of Phuket.
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
29 April 2009
BDR hands over 68 Burmese citizens to Nasaka
Teknaf, Bangladesh (KPN): Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) handed over 68 Burmese citizens to the Burmese authority (Burmese border security force, or Nasaka), yesterday afternoon at the high level flag meeting between the BDR and Nasaka, held at a rest house of border town Teknaf, Bangladesh, according to our correspondent.
Burma to accept Bangladesh prisoners
(DVB)–Burma has agreed to take back 68 Burmese nationals who have been imprisoned in Bangladesh following a meeting between the Burmese government and a Bangladeshi paramilitary border force.
23 April 2009
Self-exiled Aussie dies in Bangkok
What is left to return to?...
Lindsay Murdoch and Jim Pollard
SMH - April 23, 2009 - 7:48AM
A Melbourne man who preferred to live in a crowded Bangkok immigration cell rather than return to Australia has died.
Colin Hansch, 61, told Thai authorities he would rather stay in jail than return to Australia, even though he only slept on a mat and received a small serve of rice and soup each day.
"I've not been back to Australia for 30 years. I don't want to go back. I've got nothing to go back to," Mr Hansch said last year.
15 February 2009
အက်ဥ္းသမားမ်ား ထိုင္းဘုရင္ထံ လြတ္ၿငိမ္းခ်မ္းသာခြင့္ ေတာင္းခံျခင္း
ထိုင္းႏိုင္ငံအက်ဥ္းေထာင္ထဲက ႏွစ္ရွည္အက်ဥ္းသမားေတြဟာ တစ္ႏွစ္တစ္ခါ ထိုင္းဘုရင္ဆီကို
12 February 2009
Rogue Agent betrayed Burmese rebels - India
By Salai Pi Pi
Wednesday, 11 February 2009 23:08
New Delhi (Mizzima)- India's leading Human Rights lawyer Nandita Haksar said there are more political motives than legal reasons for India to have detained 34 Burmese rebels, who are currently lodged in Kolkata's Presidency jail. They have been in Indian jails for the past 11 years.
Wednesday, 11 February 2009 23:08
New Delhi (Mizzima)- India's leading Human Rights lawyer Nandita Haksar said there are more political motives than legal reasons for India to have detained 34 Burmese rebels, who are currently lodged in Kolkata's Presidency jail. They have been in Indian jails for the past 11 years.
29 January 2009
Royal Pardon process - Urgent request
Once a year prisoners with 'long stay' in Thailand prisons submit their petitions to the King requesting His Royal Highness pardon.
This is a long process and very legal as it involves summaries of the case and the sentence.
This is a long process and very legal as it involves summaries of the case and the sentence.
05 January 2009
Bangladesh to release 20 more foreign prisoners
Narinjara News
Bangladesh plans to release more than 20 foreign prisoners shortly. Six foreign prisoners were freed last month, said a report.
Six foreign prisoners – four Burmese, one North Korean and one Tanzanian were released last one month after their jail term of more than 15 years came to an end.
Bangladesh plans to release more than 20 foreign prisoners shortly. Six foreign prisoners were freed last month, said a report.
Six foreign prisoners – four Burmese, one North Korean and one Tanzanian were released last one month after their jail term of more than 15 years came to an end.
02 January 2009
Released Burmese prisoners languish in Bangladesh prison
Narinjara News
January 1, 2009
Cox's bazar: Burmese prisoners accounting for 105 people, though released have been languishing in Bangladesh prison since 2006 because the Burmese military government refuses to recognize them as Burmese citizens.
January 1, 2009
Cox's bazar: Burmese prisoners accounting for 105 people, though released have been languishing in Bangladesh prison since 2006 because the Burmese military government refuses to recognize them as Burmese citizens.
23 December 2008
22 September 2008
THAILAND - Widespread abuses in the administration of justice
AI-Document - Thailand: Widespread abuses in the administration of justice
THAILAND
Widespread abuses in the administration of justice
I. INTRODUCTION
The practice of torture, and the existence of conditions amounting to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment have persisted in Thai detention centres and prisons for many years. Torture has been used by the police as a means to extract confessions from criminal suspects during pre-trial detention in both police stations and in other places after arrest. Torture of convicted criminals by prison guards and ''trusties''(1) also occurs, particularly of prisoners from Myanmar or Africa, although Thai nationals are also at risk. Punishment for infraction of prison rules appears to be the main reason for these incidents of torture in prisons.
THAILAND
Widespread abuses in the administration of justice
I. INTRODUCTION
The practice of torture, and the existence of conditions amounting to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment have persisted in Thai detention centres and prisons for many years. Torture has been used by the police as a means to extract confessions from criminal suspects during pre-trial detention in both police stations and in other places after arrest. Torture of convicted criminals by prison guards and ''trusties''(1) also occurs, particularly of prisoners from Myanmar or Africa, although Thai nationals are also at risk. Punishment for infraction of prison rules appears to be the main reason for these incidents of torture in prisons.
Writing to Prisoners
Why write?
I have always written to let the prisoner know that he or she is not forgotten, that somebody on the outside cares about what is happening to them. Most of Prisoners Abroad’s clients rarely get visitors, and you only have to have been in hospital to know what it feels like when the ward is full of visitors but you don’t have anyone. It’s a terrible feeling.
I have always written to let the prisoner know that he or she is not forgotten, that somebody on the outside cares about what is happening to them. Most of Prisoners Abroad’s clients rarely get visitors, and you only have to have been in hospital to know what it feels like when the ward is full of visitors but you don’t have anyone. It’s a terrible feeling.
Prison is a Place
Prison is a place where the first person you see looks like a British College boy and you are surprised. Later you are disgusted because people on the outside still have the same prejudices about prisoners that you used to have.
Prison is a place where you write letters and can’t think of anything to say. Where you gradually write fewer and fewer letters and finally stops writing altogether.
Prison is a place where you write letters and can’t think of anything to say. Where you gradually write fewer and fewer letters and finally stops writing altogether.
20 September 2008
Burmese detainees face abuses in Bangladeshi jails
Sep 18, 2008 (DVB)–Burmese nationals detained in prisons along the Bangladeshi border have faced human right abuses and had no assistance from Burmese diplomatic representatives, two Burmese organisations reported.
The United Ethnic Nationalities and the All-Burmese Monks Representatives yesterday called for assistance to Burmese nationals held in prisons along the border for entering the country illegally, overstaying their visas or committing a crime.
The United Ethnic Nationalities and the All-Burmese Monks Representatives yesterday called for assistance to Burmese nationals held in prisons along the border for entering the country illegally, overstaying their visas or committing a crime.
28 August 2008
18 July 2008
The Real Bangkok Hilton
BBC - 19 July, 2004
Dubbed the "Bangkok Hilton" by the West, Thailand's Bangkwang jail is one of the most notorious prisons in the world.
Until now, the reality of life in Bangkwang has remained a secret. But after two years of negotiations between the BBC and Thai officials - and for the first time ever - television cameras were allowed inside.
Photo: Drug offenders are only allowed to see one visitor per weekThe film tells the human stories of prisoners struggling to stay sane in the jail's cramped conditions, and the Thai staff struggling to cope with the ever-increasing number of inmates.
Two of the nine British prisoners in Bangkwang are Michael Connell and Andrew Hawke.
Michael, 19, a thin and frail supermarket worker from Manchester, was the first Briton to be arrested under new, harsher drug laws introduced by the Thai Government in 2003. He is the only foreigner in a dormitory of 1,000 and teaches his fellow inmates English to pass the time.
Andrew, who has served nearly six years of a 50-year sentence, talks freely of his foolish decision to smuggle heroin after an offer from a stranger in Amsterdam. "I really didn't want to do it" he says. "Everything screamed against me not to do it... but I went ahead and did it anyway."
The jail's transvestites share quarters. One smuggled drugs to pay for a breast augmentation and she now works for the prison television station BKP TV as a make-up artist.
Photo: Executed bodies pass through the "ghost gate" to the last rites monk
Last rites monk
Executed bodies pass through the "ghost gate" to the last rites monk
In the prison hospital, patients are shackled to their beds. One stares vacantly into the camera as the doctor explains how Thai society is reluctant to donate medicine because it thinks the inmates deserve the suffering.
And then there are those on death row - the men just waiting to die. Each of them will get only two hours notice before they are executed by lethal injection.
The head executioner demonstrates his routine on an execution day for the crew, and the monk who administers the last rites - also on site - talks about why he thinks the condemned are "lucky" because they can prepare for death.
But luck is not a word usually associated with Bangkwang - for the prisoners or the guards.
In the last few years the prison's population has trebled to 7,000 - each inmate serving a sentence of more than 25 years - and the guards are out-numbered 50-1.
To try and ease this situation, some tough prisoners become "blue shirts" and are given the task of assisting the guards. But this simply creates more tension.
"Thai prisons are tough," says Director of Prisons Khun Nattee as a warning to tourists... "you don't want to be in Bangkwang."
The Real Bangkok Hilton was broadcast on Thursday, 22 July, 2004 at 2100 BST on BBC Two in the UK.
Dubbed the "Bangkok Hilton" by the West, Thailand's Bangkwang jail is one of the most notorious prisons in the world.
Until now, the reality of life in Bangkwang has remained a secret. But after two years of negotiations between the BBC and Thai officials - and for the first time ever - television cameras were allowed inside.
Photo: Drug offenders are only allowed to see one visitor per weekThe film tells the human stories of prisoners struggling to stay sane in the jail's cramped conditions, and the Thai staff struggling to cope with the ever-increasing number of inmates.Two of the nine British prisoners in Bangkwang are Michael Connell and Andrew Hawke.
Michael, 19, a thin and frail supermarket worker from Manchester, was the first Briton to be arrested under new, harsher drug laws introduced by the Thai Government in 2003. He is the only foreigner in a dormitory of 1,000 and teaches his fellow inmates English to pass the time.
Andrew, who has served nearly six years of a 50-year sentence, talks freely of his foolish decision to smuggle heroin after an offer from a stranger in Amsterdam. "I really didn't want to do it" he says. "Everything screamed against me not to do it... but I went ahead and did it anyway."
The jail's transvestites share quarters. One smuggled drugs to pay for a breast augmentation and she now works for the prison television station BKP TV as a make-up artist.
Photo: Executed bodies pass through the "ghost gate" to the last rites monkLast rites monk
Executed bodies pass through the "ghost gate" to the last rites monk
In the prison hospital, patients are shackled to their beds. One stares vacantly into the camera as the doctor explains how Thai society is reluctant to donate medicine because it thinks the inmates deserve the suffering.
And then there are those on death row - the men just waiting to die. Each of them will get only two hours notice before they are executed by lethal injection.
The head executioner demonstrates his routine on an execution day for the crew, and the monk who administers the last rites - also on site - talks about why he thinks the condemned are "lucky" because they can prepare for death.
But luck is not a word usually associated with Bangkwang - for the prisoners or the guards.
In the last few years the prison's population has trebled to 7,000 - each inmate serving a sentence of more than 25 years - and the guards are out-numbered 50-1.
To try and ease this situation, some tough prisoners become "blue shirts" and are given the task of assisting the guards. But this simply creates more tension.
"Thai prisons are tough," says Director of Prisons Khun Nattee as a warning to tourists... "you don't want to be in Bangkwang."
The Real Bangkok Hilton was broadcast on Thursday, 22 July, 2004 at 2100 BST on BBC Two in the UK.
Curiosity killed the cat ...
... But this cat must remain alive and kicking
Writing to a friend is easy, writing a story could be easy at times, writing to a prisoner in full control of your emotional state is a huge challenge that we could make it successful or simply fail it. The choice is only ours.
I choose to help out as I feel I must return something back to my community... my community is broad; local and international. My social responsibilities are color blind and broad minded. All human beings are part of my community.
Our role is to provide encouragement, a bit of moral support and yes that tiny piece of paper brings a bit of reassurance to a human being, "yes mate you still belong..."
Our role is to stay away from intruding into "why they are in prison" eventually they will volunteer the information to fill someone's curiosity... but please refrain from asking the why's...
Our role is to stay away from critising their behaviour or mentality...
Letters and or communications are to be polite as they are censored both ways, in and out.
Correspondence or printed material in relation to religion, politics and offensive expressions towards Thai or any country's judicial system, kingdom or officials will block our mission.
Let's do the wiser thing
Stop... Ask before you Act
Life in prison has many rules and they change with the change of management as well, it is wise to ask before visiting or sending care-packages.
Money money money... must not be attached inside the envelopes... please ask before acting as the money could be confiscated.
Do it with your eyes open
Open mailbox to the whole world with pen palsBy GLENNA WILSON
Kansas Senior Press Service
Bnet
Here's a hobby that can bring the world to your mail box --- and I don't mean more catalogs. Add pen pals to your life.
Mavis Bestvater, 77, of Peabody, thoroughly enjoys this hobby. "A pen pal's letter is an invitation into someone's else's life," she says. Every day she's eager for the mail, because letters come from near and far.
Bestvater writes more than 900 letters a year. She currently has 150 to 200 pen pals. She writes to people in nearly every state of the union and in several foreign countries.
One source of potential pals is the American Pen Pal Society, 3 Cedar St., Fair Haven, VT, 05743. For an overseas pen pal, write to International Pen Friends, F, 5 Appian Way, Allston, MA 02134.
Bestvater writes to people in Belgium, Thailand, Romania, Australia, Israel and Canada.
"You are never lonely when you have a pen friend waiting to visit with you in your mailbox," she says. "You don't have to feed them, entertain, do last-minute cleaning, or put up with their children. After a few months, my pen pals are like members of my own family."
She has written to pen pals for 15 years, and she says the new has never worn off. In 1985, Chuck Colson asked on TV for volunteers to write to prisoners. She accepted the challenge and asked for five names.
Some offensive letters came, but she wrote back, telling the prisoners that she was old enough to be their mother or grandmother - -- and that she is a Christian and doesn't appreciate vulgar language. "Not many of them wrote back, but others did." Sometimes prisoners send their mothers' names to her, and she writes to them, too.
Prisoner pen pals is its own special category, not at all like writing to an ordinary person in another state or country. Having a pen pal certainly may benefit an incarcerated person. "It's important for prisoners to remain connected to the outside world, and so pen pals can be helpful to them," says Bill Rich, a law professor at Washburn University. "But if you do this, do it with your eyes open," he says.
Rich cites possible abuses. Some of those in prison have a history of distortion or fraud and may prey on people for money or favors. But he adds, "considering the value to the prisoner of a contact with the outside world, a cautious relationship may be appropriate."
Bestvater has found prisoners to be a fulfilling mission for her, but doesn't recommend it for everyone. She does make a final suggestion for someone writing to non-prisoners: Write to people similar in age to yourself, she says. "We oldsters get along better in our own age group. A shepherd in Arkansas and a couple of others are the only pen pals I have who are older than I am, but every one is priceless to me."
If anyone has questions or would like names and addresses from her, she says to send mail to Mavis Bestvater, Peabody, 66866. You'll get an answer.
- Sources:
American Pen Pal Society
3 Cedar St., Fair Haven, VT, 05743
International Pen Friends
F, 5 Appian Way, Allston, MA 02134
See PEN PALS, page 3
Pen pals
Peabody woman shares lives from Thailand to Romania.
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