focus human rights, n° 2/2014: road to abolition: death penalty in thailand

Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom | Focus Human Rights

Focus Human Rights

No. 02 / September 2014

Road to Abolition: Death Penalty in Thailand

Pett Jarupaiboon

While Thailand remains among some 50 countries that still retain capital punishment there

have been some positive developments with regard to the prospect of abolishing death pen-

alty. However, efforts toward capital punishment abolition are hampered by a number of

factors.

While the majority of countries around the

world have either abolished the death penal-

ty or introduced a moratorium on execu-

tions, either in law or in practice, Thailand

remains among some 50 countries that still

retain capital punishment. In comparison

with the situation in the Southeast Asian

community, its death-row population was

said to rank second to that of Malaysia1,

which retains the death penalty by means of

hanging. Meanwhile Cambodia and the Phil-

ippines abolished the death penalty in 1989

and 20062, respectively, while no executions

have been reported in neighbouring Laos or

Myanmar for over a decade. Brunei currently

holds the status of de facto abolitionist, with no executions reported since 1957. Indonesia

and Vietnam both retain the death penalty,

by firing squad and lethal injection, respec-

tively.3 Another retentionist country, Singa-

pore, which was ranked by AMNESTY INTERNA-

TIONAL in 2004 as possibly having the highest

per-capita ratio of prisoners condemned to

death, has continued to improve its record,

with the numbers of death-row prisoners

greatly reduced and fewer executions rec-

orded in recent years.4

Table 1: Death Penalty Statistics

in Thailand as at February 25, 2014

Condemned Prisoners (cases)

Legal Process Completed 147

Before Appeal Court 441

Before Supreme Court 97

Total 685

Table 2: Condemned Prisoners

with Completed Legal Process in Thailand

Crime Male Female Total

Drug-related 60 11 71

Others 75 1 76

Total 135 12 147

Source: Department of Corrections5

As seen in the above tables, there were approxi-

mately 700 prisoners on death row. Many of

these were convicted for drug offenses. The fact

that Thai law continues to enforce the use of the

death penalty for drug trafficking is particularly

worrying, as a large number of countries reserve

No. 02 / September 2014 | Road to Abolition Death Penalty in Thailand | 2


the death penalty for only cases of premeditated

homicide. In 2005, Thailand was admonished by

the UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION for

retaining the use of the death penalty for drug-

related cases.6 This raises concerns that the

death penalty is not restricted to the most seri-

ous crimes, which do not include drug-related

offenses, as stipulated in the International Cove-nant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Thailand is a State party.

There have been notable efforts by human rights

activists with regards to the issue of death pen-

alty in recent years. In October 2013, representa-

tives from AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL THAILAND met

with the SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON HUMAN

RIGHTS, RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES, AND CONSUMER PRO-

TECTION to discuss the possibility of death penal-

ty. During the meeting, the Committee stated

that while Thailand is a retentionist country, the

punishment is rarely carried out as prisoners

condemned to death are permitted to file for a

royal pardon. The trend for clemency the com-mutation, or substitution, of a sentence of death

with a sentence of imprisonment for death penalty cases in Thailand is particularly notewor-

thy for that fact that, at least since the end of

World War II, the King has commuted the vast

majority of finalized death sentences by the

Individual or Collective Royal Pardon procedures. Over 90 percent of finalized cases with the pen-

alty of death are commuted in Thailand. In Au-

gust 2012, all prisoners who were sentenced to

death and whose cases had reached a final ver-

dict were pardoned by the King; their death sen-

tences were reduced to life imprisonment. Ac-

cording to a 2005 report by the INTERNATIONAL

FEDERATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (FIDH), Thailand

witnessed a de facto moratorium between 1987 and 1995, when a royal pardon was granted to

all inmates on death row.7

The most recent executions in Thailand occurred

in 2009, when two drug-trafficking convicts

were executed by means of lethal injection.8

Prior to that, the last executions took place in

2003. If there are no more executions in the next

five years, Thailand will obtain the status of an

abolitionist in practice, according to Amnesty

International which defines a country as such if

no executions have been carried out for ten con-

secutive years.

Meanwhile, there have been some positive de-

velopments with regards to the prospect of abol-

ishing capital punishment in Thailand in recent

years. In 2010, Thailand abstained in a UNITED

NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY (UNGA) vote for a

global moratorium on the use of death penalty

for the first time a move welcomed by human rights advocates as a major stepping stone as

Thailand had usually voted against it in the past.

Thailand continued to abstain in the vote in

2011 and 2012. In 2012, a law was passed that

abolished the death penalty for juvenile and

pregnant offenders, in line with Article 6 of the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Another notable development is the fact that the replacement of capital punish-

ment with life imprisonment is used as a princi-

pal indicator of progress in the countrys second National Human Rights Plan of Action (2009-2013), which also included the review of legisla-

tions that allows capital punishment.9 The issue

is also included in greater details in the third

plan for 20142018, which outlines a program that purportedly includes the conduct of re-

search on required legal and constitutional

amendments, plans on consultation of public

opinion, and a debate in parliament on the abol-

ishment. The major actor in the implementation

of said plans is the RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES PROTEC-

TION DEPARTMENT OF THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE, with

the support of an academic team responsible for

the research and presentation of the study re-

sults. Meanwhile, an increasing number of high-

ranking officials and influential figures in the

justice ministry and relevant agencies have ei-

ther voiced their opposition against the use of

the death penalty or shown willingness in work-

ing toward its abolishment. In an interview with

a local news outlet in December 2012, Police

Colonel Aeknarat Sawettanand, Director General

of the DEPARTMENT OF RIGHTS AND LIBERTY PROTEC-

TION, stated that the Department was committed

in working to learn from the experience of other

countries with regards to death penalty and raise

awareness among the Thai public that the death

penalty does not lead to the reduction of serious

crimes.10

During a discussion hosted by the de-

partment in June 2013, Nathee Chitsawang, the

Deputy Director of the THAILAND INSTITUTE OF JUS-

TICE, a public organization affiliated with the

justice ministry, declared that Thailand aims at

achieving de facto abolition, a status ascribed to

nations with no recorded executions for a 10-

year period.11

However, efforts toward capital punishment

abolition may be hampered by a number of fac-

tors. As shown in several popular surveys over

the years, many Thais are still in favour of the

death penalty, especially in the aftermath of



highly-publicized serious crimes, such as cases of

sexual assault against minors. This is partly be-

cause some people see the use of death penalty

as revenge and retribution, while others believe

it acts as deterrent for would-be criminals. In

addition, the government has yet to take a fore-

front role when it comes to death penalty abol-

ishment. The government only allocates a rather

small budget reportedly only two million Baht (approximately 45,000 Euro) each year to agencies in charge for the activities required in

executing the National Human Rights Plan of Action.12 In addition, despite the aforementioned abstention of vote in the UNGA, the Thai gov-

ernment failed to send representatives to the

World Conference of the Abolition of the Death Penalty in the Spanish capital of Madrid in June 2013, indicating that it was not committed in

seriously pursuing this goal.

While Thailand has a long way toward the aboli-

tion of death penalty, it may begin with a more

humble step by adopting a moratorium on exe-

cutions. The country has made significant pro-

gress when it recently prohibited capital pun-

ishment for juvenile and pregnant offenders, and

the granting of the royal pardon to a large num-

ber of death row inmates each year is significant

in preparing the public toward an attitude that

sees the death penalty as a violation of human

rights that will eventually lead them to accept a

more humane substitute for capital punishment,

namely permanent imprisonment without parole.

While it is ultimately up to the parliament to

sign it into law, concerted efforts by other non-

state actors are instrumental in making this

happen, including by human rights NGOs, those

working in justice and corrections department,

political parties, interest parties, and Buddhist

authorities.

1 The European Union and Death Penalty in Thailand, Delegation of the European Union to Thailand, accessed

April 11, 2014,

http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/thailand/eu_thailand/polit

ical_relations/the_european_union_and_death_penalty_in_

thailand/index_en.htm 2 The Philippines was the first Asian country to abolish

capital punishment when it ratified its 1987 constitution.

However, the constitution did not prevent the legislative

branch from re-imposing it, and so the law was passed that

re-imposed the death penalty after a surge of serious

crimes in 1993, and then again in 2003. In 2006, the Philip-

pine legislature signed a bill prohibiting the imposition of

the death penalty, thereby officially ending the death pen-

alty. 3 Asia (South-eastern Asia), Death Penalty Worldwide, accessed April 18, 2014 ,

http://www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org/country-

filter.cfm?region=Asia%20%28South-

eastern%20Asia%29&method=&language=en 4 Singapore: The death penalty - A hidden toll of

executions, Amnesty International, accessed March 31, 2014,

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA36/001/2

004/en. Singapore, Death Penalty Worldwide, accessed April 18, 2014 , http://www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org/country-

search-post.cfm?country=Singapore 5 Death Penalty Statistics : 25th February 2014, Death Penalty Thailand, accessed April 17, 2014,

http://deathpenaltythailand.blogspot.com 6 "Thailand does not execute women," Death Penalty Thai-

land, accessed April 17, 2014

http://deathpenaltythailand.blogspot.com/2013_12_01_arc

hive.html 7 The death penalty in Thailand,International Federation for Human Rights, accessed April 1, 2014,

http://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/Thailand411-2.pdf 8 Thailand carries out first executions in six years, Amnes-ty International , accessed March 31, 2014,

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-

updates/news/thailand-first-executions-six-years-

20090826 9 The European Union and Death Penalty in Thailand, Delegation of the European Union to Thailand, accessed

April 11, 2014,

http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/thailand/eu_thailand/polit

ical_relations/the_european_union_and_death_penalty_in_

thailand/index_en.htm

TIJ joined the Death Penalty Debate, Thailand Institute of Justice, accessed April 18, 2014,

http://www.tijthailand.org/main/en/content/104.html 10 Experts call for end to death penalty in Thailand, Na-tionmultimedia, accessed April 18, 2014.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Experts-call-

for-end-to-death-penalty-in-Thailand-30196019.html 11 Aftermath of the World Congress - back to Thailand, Death Penalty Thailand, accessed April 17, 2014,

http://deathpenaltythailand.blogspot.com/2013_06_01_arc

hive.html 12 Where does Thailand stand?, Death Penalty Thailand, accessed April 17, 2014,

http://deathpenaltythailand.blogspot.com

Pett Jarupaiboon is Programme Officer at the Southeast and East Asia Office of the Friedrich Nau-

mann Foundation for Freedom in Bangkok.



Imprint

Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom

International Politics

Asia and Human Rights Department Karl-Marx-Strae 2

D-14482 Potsdam Germany

[email protected]

www.freiheit.org

focus human rights, n° 2/2014: road to abolition: death penalty in thailand

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