Human rights and civil liberty organisations yesterday cried foul after the Royal Thai Police (RTP) sought to postpone the effective date of a law aimed at countering torture and enforced disappearances.
The Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act was published in the Royal Gazette on Oct 25 last year and is set to take effect on Feb 22 — after more than 14 years of campaigning to push for the law.
According to 17 rights organisations led by the Union for Civil Liberty and the Cross Cultural Foundation which spoke out yesterday, the RTP early this month submitted a letter to the justice minister asking him to consider postponing Chapter 3 of the law.
The police force cited a lack of equipment, skills and standard guidelines as a reason and claimed that enforcement of the law under current circumstances would cause more harm.
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