Article 57

Ranger to be tried in Yala provincial court

Army regrets case of wrongful shooting

WASSANA NANUAM BHANRAVEE TANSUBHAPOL

The paramilitary ranger volunteer accused of wrongfully shooting dead a Muslim teenager in downtown Yala last Monday will be tried in provincial court, not military court.

He will not receive any assistance from the military.

Agreement was reached during a three-hour meeting at Thaksin Ratchaniwet Palace in Narathiwat involving army chief Gen Chaisit Shinawatra, Fourth Army commander Lt-Gen Pisarn Watanawongkeeree and the parents of slain teenager Ilmin Nurul-adil Jehleh, Mr Usman and Mrs Yamila.

``The army will not get involved in the case but will leave it to the judicial court to handle,'' Lt-Gen Pisarn said

``He will not go before a military court and will be tried by the provincial court as requested by the bereaved family. But the fact the incident occurred in an area under martial law must be taken into account by the court.''

He said the army regretted the death of Ilmin and would give assistance and compensation to! the bereaved family, but it also understood that ranger volunteer Wicharn Phetwong said Ilmin was carrying a gun and running from the scene of a shooting and he mistook him for a bandit.

``We insist that the ranger did not stand on the back (of Ilmin) and shoot him point-blank. He fired when Ilmin and his uncle Muhammad Romli Jehleh kept running even after warning gunshots were fired into the sky. This point will be considered by the court,'' the Fourth Army commander said.

The dead youth's relatives would decide for themselves whether to sue the ranger, but Mr Usman had agreed to continue working for the army as a religious lecturer

Mr Usman said after the meeting he understood the army felt sorry about the death of his son and was willing to help his family. But he was a lawyer and would take the case to court to set a precedent. Soldiers should be more careful, even if martial law was being enforced.

Mrs Yamila said the army chief admitted i! t was the military's mistake. ``Lt-Gen Pisarn, the Fourth Army chief, even cried several times before us. He spoke very well and softly. We feel better, but do not want to talk about money,'' she said.

Today, Mr Usman will file a lawsuit in Yala Provincial Court against the ranger volunteer who shot his son dead on September 6.

Dej-udom Krairidh, president of the Law Society of Thailand, said being shot was a violation of human rights and Mr Usman could ask for a full investigation even if the South was under martial law.

Pol Gen Sombat Amornwiwat, director-general of the Department of Special Investigations (DSS), said he was hopeful Mr Usman would request the DSI to investigate his son's death within a few days.