Page 64 - Dignity and justice for all of us our voices are heard in Thailand

Universal Declaration of Human Rights
A man, age 34
Member of the Lua ethnic group
Chaloem Phra Kiat district, Nan province

Voice

“What reason is This voice comes from a 34-year-old male inmate of Lua ethnic origin, who was charged in a

there for an innocent drug case and who has been in a prison in Nan province for the last five years. He claims that he
is innocent. “In 2003, the police searched my house, citing an incident that they said took place
person to be in 2001. The person the police said that he was searching for was an accomplice to a narcotic

imprisoned?” offence,” he explains. However, he says that he was not an accomplice in this crime and found
out while in prison that the guilty man was, in fact, someone else with a similar name.

“I told the police I had nothing to do with it. I didn’t understand what they were talking about.
They forced me to give a confession, saying that if I confessed, I would not have to go to prison;
so I confessed. The police tricked me into this confession that I then signed,” he explains. “During
the trial I again denied the charges against me. I knew I was going to be put in jail, despite what
the police had said. What reason is there for an innocent person to be imprisoned?” he asks.
“Sometimes I miss my child, my wife and my parents, and I ask myself, ‘why has this happened
to me?’ The actual wrongdoer has already left prison, while I, who have done nothing wrong,
am stuck here in jail.”

52 Dignity and Justice for All of Us