07/08/2026
STATEMENT: Concern over death threats faced by human rights defenders in Thailand’s eastern region.
BANGKOK, August 6, 2026 – The NGO Coordinating Committee on Development (NGO-COD) together with a network of human rights organizations including the ENLAWTHAI Foundation (EnLAW), Protection International (PI), the Ecological Alert and Recovery – Thailand (EARTH), and the Prachinburi Strong Network (also referred to as Prachin Khem Kaeng), held a press conference at the Thai Volunteer Service (TVS) to expose the critical situation in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) area concerning on death threats against two prominent community leaders who have been exposing the illegal dumping of industrial waste.
Oracha Chandej, a female human rights defender in eastern Thailand, revealed in-depth information from three eastern provinces, particularly Prachinburi province (Kabin Buri and Si Maha Phot districts) where land has been bought up to establish illegal industries expanding from the EEC area. The harassment of community leaders like Sumet Rainpongnam and Sunthorn Komkai has started since 2017, with a systematic escalation of violence.
It began with SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) lawsuits filed to burden and obstruct investigations. In addition, there have been direct intimidation and harassment, starting with continuous threatening phone calls to leaders. There was also an incident where network members were surrounded and restrained in mysterious vehicles. There were threats against Sumet, which began with threatening phone calls, close surveillance, and most seriously, the poisoning of his dogs, resulting in the deaths of three dogs within two days after he spoke out about the illegal dumping of toxic waste in Sa Kaeo province.
Oracha revealed that an inspection of the area in front of the house found evidence including cigarette butts, water bottles, and energy drink bottles, clearly indicating that a group of people were lying in wait to observe their movements. Reliable sources in the province confirmed this. A movement comprised of Chinese investors, politicians, and business groups in the province has pooled resources and placed a bounty of 2,000,000 baht for Sumet and Sunthorn lives.
Penchom Saetang, director of the Environmental Alert and Recovery – Thailand (EARTH), noted that the main reason for the harassment is that human rights defenders in the eastern region are interfering with the huge interests of business groups that are violating laws such as the Factory Act, the Hazardous Substances Act, and the Public Health Act.
Penchom further stated that the damage in the eastern region is a national-level and an environmental crime resulting from the illegal dumping of industrial waste, which in the past five years has caused damage of at least 10 billion baht.
Suttikiat Khotchaso from ENLAWTHAI Foundation (EnLAW), explained the systematic suppression of rights through laws, stating that the justice system is used as a tool to harass human rights defenders. The corporate groups often file criminal charges in remote areas to create a burden of travel and expenses, hoping to stifle the movement.
Furthermore, the inefficiency of the state is another loophole. When factories violate the law, they are often only ordered to rectify, but no actual amendment are made, and the factories are never ordered to be closed. This has fostered a culture of unabashed illegal business practices. Even though Section 161/1 of the Criminal Procedure Code was amended in 2019, it has rarely been effectively used to protect environmental human rights activists. The president of Thailand’s Supreme Court’s recommendation regarding SLAPP lawsuits only covers cases where private individuals sue directly in court, but not cases where private individuals file complaints with the police/prosecutor's office, leaving community leaders without protection during the investigative phase.
Pranom Somwong, a representative from Protection International (PI), analyzed the structure of violence and criticized the Thai government's actions, highlighting historical traumas and a "culture of impunity."
Over the past 30 years, the bloodshed history of human rights defenders has seen more than 60 environmental and land rights defenders murdered or forcibly disappeared, and the Thai state has rarely brought the masterminds or those who hired them to justice.
The highest level of warning is the ability of perpetrators to approach houses and poison dogs, reflecting the resources and capabilities of those inflicting the harm, who are ready to act at any moment. This is not just intimidation, but a structural threat intended to instill fear. It’s like "killing a chicken to scare the monkeys", to create an atmosphere of chilling effect.
Pranom pointed out the failure of the Department of Rights and Liberties Protection, under the Ministry of Justice, citing a lack of understanding of the context of human rights defenders' work, bias, and a refusal to accept the UN's universal definition. The state often denies political responsibility and uses the excuse of “drafting protection laws” as a delaying tactic.
Lertsak Kamkongsak, Chair of NGO-COD, stated that if the Thai government wants to join the OECD, Thailand must prove transparency and the ability to scrutinize the behavior of the business sector. If the state continues to allow community leaders to be threatens, that means the state has failed to fulfill its international obligations.
Lertsak also analyzed the state power structure that benefits capitalist groups, pointing out that what happened to the community leaders in the eastern region is not just a personal matter, but a test of democracy, the rule of law, and the direction of national development.
Furthermore, the eastern region crisis is a legacy from the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) era, which injected massive reactionary forces to accelerate development in the area. In particular, the push for the EEC policy and the issuance of the NCPO Order No. 4/2016, which deregulated urban planning and environmental regulations, are major causes that have paved the way for the establishment of toxic waste industries and have led to the current threats faced by villagers who have risen up to scrutinize the situation.
Four urgent demands from the network:
1. Royal Thai Police and Ministry of Interior: Must immediately integrate investigations into the hiring of gunmen and establish a mechanism to provide maximum security protection for the leaders and their families.
2. Ministry of Justice: Expedite the proactive enforcement of witness protection measures and amend laws to prevent SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) in a concrete and effective manner.
3. Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and EEC regulatory agencies: Join forces to crack down on illegal recycling plants, investigate the financial trail of foreign capital using nominees, and decisively order the closure of factories that violate the law.
4. National Human Rights Commission and UN OHCHR: Request that national and UN human rights mechanisms investigate the facts on the ground, pressure the Thai government, and closely monitor the situation.
“Development can only be meaningful when people can safely exercise their right to protect the environment. If it comes at the cost of lives and torture, that cannot be called development,” the network emphasized.
Read the Thai version https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1477339131094519&id=100064553385694&rdid=8kh850p2hUPDBnxB
