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its holding a private interview with the detainee. There are cases in which

that authorities set up an investigation committee but most of its members

were from the accused agency. The investigation thus lacked transparency

and usually led to a conclusion that no torture was committed although

such conclusion was sometimes in conflict with the victim's medical

examination and the investigation by the NHRCT Sub-committee.

18. Recommendation: The Government should restore confidence to the

administrative system in delivering justice by promptly investigating a

complaint about torture by public officials. Since the act of torture

involves state officials, the Government should ensure that the

investigation would be conducted fairly and impartially. An independent

agency or a public prosecutor may participate in the investigation together

with police. Any public official who is found guilty of torture must be

subjected to both criminal and disciplinary punishments. Meanwhile, the

government should provide protection for torture victims and witnesses

from being threatened by state officials. Under the Universal Periodic

Review (UPR) process, the Thai Government accepted many

recommendations to investigate cases of human rights violations in the

South and bring the perpetrators to punishment. It has also adopted a

policy on the management and development of southern Thailand (2012-

2014) which emphasizes the importance of bringing justice to the people in

the area based on the rule of law and respect for human rights, including

by scrutinizing the exercise of power of state officials to be in compliance

with the law, investigating allegations relating to abuse of power and

punishing those found guilty of wrong doing to eradicate the culture of

impunity. The Government should make serious efforts to implement the