Article 55

Father of dead student vows to fight on

WASSANA NANUAM

Yala _ The father of a 20-year-old dead Muslim man will appeal against the Yala provincial court's rejection of his lawsuit against five paramilitary rangers who allegedly killed his son in Yala's Muang district on Sept 6.

The court turned down the suit of Usaman Nurul-adin Jehlae, who is also a lawyer, on Tuesday, saying the five should be tried in a military court.

The five rangers allegedly mistook Mr Usaman's son, Ilmin Nurul-adin Jehlae, a Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University student, as an Islamic militant and shot him dead.

Mr Usaman, who says his son was summarily executed after he was forced to lie on the ground, said he would fight all the way to have his son's murder case tried in a civilian court.

``If the case goes to the military court, I believe those five people will be found innocent,'' he said.

The rangers named in Mr Usaman's suit are Staff Sergeant Saothong Kaewsawang, of the Narathiwat-based Ranger Company 4102, and Wicharn Phetwong, Sawaeng Promwilai, Doloh Hama and Somsak Kladaeng.

Fourth Army commander Pisarn Wattanawongkeeree said the five would be court-martialled, and promised justice would be served. Lt-Gen Pisarn said the military would help Mr Usaman and his family because the lawyer had helped the army with its work for a long time. The family was to use compensation from the military to set up a foundation, named after Ilmin, to provide legal aid for Muslims.