Amnesty International calls on authorities to reopen the investigation into the killing of environmental activist Charoen Wat-aksorn following the Thai Supreme Court’s upholding of the acquittal of a former local official who had originally been convicted of masterminding his death.
Charoen, 37, a pineapple farmer, successfully mass mobilised local communities to stop the construction of two power plants in Prachuab Khirikan. He was shot as he got out of a bus in Bo Nok, Muaeng District, Prachuab Khirikan on 21 June 2004. At the time he was returning from testifying to a parliamentary committee in Bangkok, and had earlier registered complaints about official collusion in the illegal transfer of public land in Bo Nok.