Saudi woman held at Bangkok airport says fears death if repatriated

Yahoo – AFP, 6 January 2019

Rahaf told AFP she was stopped by Saudi and Kuwaiti officials when she
arrived in Suvarnabhumi airport

A Saudi woman held at Bangkok airport said she would be killed if she was repatriated by Thai immigration officials, who confirmed the 18-year-old was denied entry to the country Sunday.

Rahaf Mohammed M Alqunun told AFP she was stopped by Saudi and Kuwaiti officials when she arrived in Suvarnabhumi airport and her travel document was forcibly taken from her, a claim backed by Human Rights Watch.

"They took my passport," she told AFP, adding that her male guardian had reported her for traveling "without his permission".

Rahaf said she was trying to flee her family, who subjected her to physical and psychological abuse.

"My family is strict and locked me in a room for six months just for cutting my hair," she said, adding that she is certain she will be imprisoned if she is sent back.

"I'm sure 100 percent they will kill me as soon as I get out of the Saudi jail," she said, adding that she was "scared" and "losing hope".

Rahaf was stopped from entering Thailand when she flew in from Kuwait on Sunday, Thailand's immigration chief Surachate Hakparn told AFP.

"She had no further documents such as return ticket or money," he said, adding that Rahaf was currently in an airport hotel.

"She ran away from her family to avoid marriage and she is concerned she may be in trouble returning to Saudi Arabia. We sent officials to take care of her now," he said.

He added that Thai authorities had contacted the "Saudi Arabia embassy to coordinate".

But Rahaf disputed his account, saying that she was in transit to seek asylum in Australia, where she claimed to have a visa, and was accosted by Saudi and Kuwaiti embassy representatives when she deplaned in Suvarnabhumi airport.

Human Rights Watch Asia deputy director Phil Robertson decried the actions of the Thai authorities.

"What country allows diplomats to wander around the closed section of the airport and seize the passports of the passengers?" he said, adding that there is "impunity" within the family unit in Saudi Arabia to abuse women.

Immigration head Surachate said Rahaf would be sent back to Saudi Arabia by Monday morning.

"It's a family problem," he said of the case.

Another Saudi woman, Dina Ali Lasloom, was stopped in transit in the Philippines in April 2017 when she attempted to flee her family.

An airline security official told activists that Lasloom was heard "screaming and begging for help" as men carried her "with duct tape on her mouth, feet and hands" at the airport.

The Saudi embassy in Thailand and officials in Riyadh could not be reached for immediate comment.

A military junta has ruled Thailand since 2014, and with rumors that an election could be delayed again, protesters say enough is enoughhttps://t.co/z51Yalkuyw pic.twitter.com/tAJ2Ww6dUA

— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 6, 2019

Thai king granted full ownership of crown billions

Yahoo – AFP, June 16, 2018

Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn inherited one of the world's great fortunes when he
ascended the Thai throne following the October 2016 death of his father (AFP Photo/
Panupong CHANGCHAI)

Thailand's king has been granted full ownership of the palace's multi-billion dollar assets under a law passed last year, according to a rare "explanatory note" published by the financial arm of the powerful but secretive monarchy.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn inherited one of the world's great fortunes when he ascended the Thai throne following the October 2016 death of his father, who ruled for seven decades.

Analysts say the Chakris are one of the world's richest royal dynasties, with estimates varying between $30-60 billion, although the monarchy does not publicly declare its wealth and is shielded from scrutiny by a draconian lese majeste law.

Most of the money is controlled by the opaque Crown Property Bureau (CPB), a vast portfolio that includes massive property ownership and investments in major companies.

But last July the Thai junta amended a royal property law for the first time in 69 years to give Vajiralongkorn full control over the CPB.

It is one of several steps taken by Vajiralongkorn to increase his personal control over the palace bureaucracy and its wealth since taking the throne.

The amendment means "all 'Crown Property Assets' are to be transferred and revert to the ownership of His Majesty, so that they may be administered and managed at His Majesty's discretion," according to a note featured prominently on the front page of the CPB's website.

The document was not dated and the CPB, which rarely grants interviews, could not be reached for further comment.

The note clarified that all of the CPB's shareholdings will also "be held in the name of His Majesty."

The CPB has major investments in some of Thailand's largest companies, such as Siam Commercial Bank and Siam Cement Company.

The note also said that previously tax exempt CPB assets will now be liable to taxation "in line with His Majesty's wishes."

Public discussion of the monarchy's actions remains taboo due to Thailand's lese majeste law, which punishes any perceived criticism with up to 15 years per offence.

All media based in Thailand must self-censor when reporting on the monarchy to avoid violating the lese majeste law.

Top Thai royal aide sacked for 'evil acts': palace

Yahoo – AFP, November 11, 2017

The latest aide to fall from grace is Distorn Vajarodaya, a senior official in the Royal
Household Bureau who served as Grand Chamberlain under the late Thai King
Bhumibol Adulyadej (AFP Photo/PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL)

Bangkok (AFP) - A senior Thai royal official has been sacked for "evil acts" including having an extramarital affair and forcing his alleged mistress to get an abortion, the palace said, the latest top aide to be axed under King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

Vajiralongkorn, 65, took the throne one year ago following the death of his widely revered father King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who reigned for seven decades.

He has yet to attain his father's widespread popularity but remains insulated from any criticism by one of the world's harshest royal defamation laws.

Since ascending the throne the new monarch has axed a number of powerful palace officials from his father's era.

The latest aide to fall from grace is Distorn Vajarodaya, a senior official in the Royal Household Bureau who served as Grand Chamberlain under the late King Bhumibol and was often seen by the ailing monarch's side during the final years of his reign.

A statement published by the Royal Gazette late Friday stripped Distorn of his royal decorations and listed his alleged wrongdoings -- including having an extramarital affair, "forcing" his mistress to get an abortion, and then coercing her into marrying another man.

"When the woman got pregnant for the second time, he forced her to have another abortion but the woman refused. So he forced her to get married with another man she hadn't had a relationship with," the statement said.

Distorn was also accused of "using the King's name to avoid taxation in importing a foreign vehicle" to replace a damaged royal car.

The aide also allegedly ordered staff to forge documents about a donation to a royal foundation he chaired.

Thailand's lese majeste law, which criminalises insulting the monarchy with up to 15 years in prison per offence, makes it impossible to publicly counter such charges.

Many of those purged from the new monarch's inner circle have been charged with lese majeste and jailed.

In one of the most dramatic episodes, Vajiralongkorn divorced his third wife in late 2014 after half a dozen of her relatives were charged with lese majeste -- and later jailed -- for allegedly abusing their royal ties to him.

All media inside Thailand must heavily self-censor when reporting on the royal family to avoid falling foul of the defamation law.

Rise and fall of General Manas: Thailand's top trafficker

Yahoo – AFP, Aidan JONES, Sally MAIRS, 23 July 2017

Rise and fall of General Manas: Thailand's top trafficker

Bangkok (AFP) - An army 'Big Shot' whose influence seeped across the south, Lieutenant-General Manas Kongpan sat at the apex of Thailand's grisly trade in humans, raking in an untold fortune to keep prying eyes off the trafficking route.

As the number of desperate Rohingya and Bangladeshis shuttled through the trafficking operation shot up, so did Manas' rank in the Thai military.

But the silver-haired general was condemned to 27 years in prison on Wednesday for profiting from the trade, an extraordinarily rare conviction of a senior member of an army that dominates the kingdom.

The 61-year-old's downfall was hastened in 2015 after investigators uncovered secret jungle prisons in the south where traffickers starved and tortured migrants while holding them for ransom.

The discovery exposed Thailand's horrifying role in a criminal operation that shifted victims from Myanmar to Malaysia, and forced the ruling junta to launch a belated crackdown.

Police followed a money trail that lead straight to Manas, an army hardliner with a passion for bullfighting.

"He was involved in such an obvious way...at a time when the junta was really trying to show themselves to be clean," said Paul Chambers, an expert on Thailand's military.

"He is going down because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time."

Money trail

Manas was first highlighted as a suspect in early 2015 after 98 famished Rohingya were found in trucks in Nakhon Si Thammarat, stopped by a random police checkpoint.

Provincial police -- aided by anti-trafficking NGO Freeland -- used the drivers' cell phones to trace their regular route.

The trail carved through Thailand's southern neck from coastal Ranong, where boatloads of migrants arrived from Myanmar, to malaria-infested camps near the Malaysian border, where they were held in appalling conditions.

Phone and e-banking records from the drivers led to key trafficker Sunan Saengthong, a Ranong politician and businessman who had deposited nearly $600,000 in accounts belonging to Manas.

In May 2015 police found more bank slips revealing that Sunan's nephew had also transferred huge sums to Manas, including some $400,000 in just over a month.

Sunan was jailed for 35 years in a separate trial but his nephew Nattaphat Saengthong and others remain at large.

Around the time of the money transfers, Manas served as a top commander of Thailand's southern security arm.

His job was to enforce its controversial "push-back" policy -- which meant turning around boats of stateless Rohingya who were trying to flee persecution in Myanmar.

But he used this position to do just the opposite, according to last week's verdict, which exposed a matrix of collusion between state officials and businessmen who profited from trafficking.

Witnesses said Manas instructed officers to force back a boat of 265 Rohingya in 2012 -- only to covertly re-route the ship to shore and truck the human cargo south to the jungle prisons.

Manas "had direct responsiblity in the push-back mission and must have been part of this human trafficking network, otherwise the Rohingya would not have been able to return to Thailand so quickly," the verdict read.

Southern 'Big Shot'

The trafficking operation flourished until the 2015 crackdown, with tens of thousands of victims funnelled through a trade worth an estimated $250 million dollars.

Many were lured from the Myanmar-Bangladesh border by brokers who promised jobs, while others were violently kidnapped and forced onto the boats.

The big money was made in Thailand, where jungle camp wardens phoned relatives of the weakest migrants and threatened to kill them if they didn't send more cash.

The young and strong were sold off as labour to Malaysian palm oil plantations or fishing boats, according to Freeland.

All the while, Manas' seemingly inexorable rise up the army ranks continued, with his command stretching over increasingly large chunks of the south.

Months before his arrest in 2015, he was promoted to Lt-General and given the sweeping role of "military advisor".

It wasn't the first time the hawkish officer had hurdled controversy.

He was linked to a 2004 raid on a mosque that left more than 30 Muslim rebels dead in Thailand's far south, one of the early sparks of an insurgency still burning today.

"He had a reputation for often going beyond the law," said Chambers, adding that he was known as a "big shot" in the region.

Manas was the only military man convicted in last week's trafficking trial, which saw more than 60 people sent to jail.

Rights groups welcomed the verdict but warned that many perpetrators remain at large.

"We know not everyone has been accounted for in this trial," said Amy Smith from Fortify Rights, which closely tracked the investigation.

"More needs to be done to account for the horrific crimes that took place... and to ensure this never happens again."

The rise and fall of General Manas: Thailand's top trafficker https://t.co/51W0Yh49li pic.twitter.com/Vth21GCXdG

— AFP news agency (@AFP) July 23, 2017

Canadian found dead in Thai cell wanted over 'dark web' market

Yahoo – AFP, Sally MAIRS, July 15, 2017

Thai police arrested Canadian Alexandre Cazes in Bangkok on July 5 and had
planned to extradite him to the US, where he faced drug trafficking and money
laundering charges (AFP Photo/MANAN VATSYAYANA)

Bangkok (AFP) - A 26-year-old Canadian found dead in his Thai police cell this week was wanted in the US for allegedly running a massive "dark web" marketplace for drugs and other contraband, a police source told AFP Saturday.

Thai cops arrested Alexandre Cazes in Bangkok on July 5 and had planned to extradite him to the US, where he faced drug trafficking and money laundering charges.

But the computer programmer hanged himself with a towel in his detention cell a week later on July 12, according to Thai anti-narcotics police, who have been tight-lipped on the details of his case.

On Saturday a Thai officer confirmed Cazes was accused of being an "operator" of a major online black market.

"It's a huge dark web market that trafficks drugs and sells other illegal stuff," the police officer said, requesting anonymity.

Speculation is rife that the underground marketplace was AlphaBay, considered the world's largest and most lucrative darknet bazaar until it was taken down within hours of Cazes' arrest.

Like its predecessor Silk Road, which was shut down by the FBI in 2013, AlphaBay used the encrypted Tor network and virtual currencies like Bitcoin to shield customers from detection.

According to Nicolas Christin, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, AlphaBay gained prominence in 2015 and mostly traded in drugs, stolen credit cards and forged IDs.

It was "more than twice as big as Silk Road was in its heyday, with a revenue of somewhere between 600,000 and 800,000 dollars a day in early 2017, and that's a rather conservative estimate," he told AFP.

Luxury lifestyle

Cazes appeared to be living a life of luxury in Thailand, where he owned three houses and four cars -- including a Lamborghini -- according to Thai police who have seized the assets.

He slipped into the country around eight years ago, according to police.

"He was a computer expert involved with international transactions of Bitcoins," said Major General Soontorn Chalermkiat, a spokesman for Thailand's Narcotics Suppression Bureau.

"He didn't have any business in Thailand but he had many houses," the officer said, adding that Cazes' Thai wife has since been charged with money laundering.

The US Embassy in Bangkok refused to comment on the details of the case, saying only that Cazes was detained at the request of the US "with a view toward extradition to face federal criminal charges".

The founder of Silk Road -- the world's first and most famous digital drug market -- was sentenced to life in prison by federal court in New York in 2015.

Thirst for democracy catches world powers off guard

Google – AFP, Nicolas Revise (AFP), 1 March 2014

Thai anti-government protesters carry a large national flag as they parade

during a rally in Bangkok on January 25, 2014 (AFP/File, Pornchai Kittiwongsakul)

Washington — Time was, overturning a freely-elected government would have earned a sharp US rebuke. But as people power revolts sweep some countries, Washington is increasingly giving its blessing to ousting leaders accused of betraying democracy.

From Egypt, where the nation's first democratically-elected president Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi was toppled in July by the army, to Ukraine where Viktor Yanukovych, brought to power in 2010 polls, fled his post after months of street protests, the US has had to fine-tune its response.

Indeed US Secretary of State John Kerry said bluntly this week: "A democracy is not defined solely by an election."

"You can have a democratically-elected government, but you don't have democratically-instituted reforms that actually give you a democracy, a full, practicing, functioning democracy," Kerry told reporters.

"And what you have in many places is a general election, a popular election, absent reform, present with great corruption, great cronyism and a huge distortion of democratic process."

While at first glance protests in Thailand and Venezuela may have nothing in common with the demonstrations against the elected leaders in Ukraine and Egypt, analysts and diplomats argue there is often a common core.

It is "an incredible yearning for modernity, for change, for choice, for empowerment of individuals that is moving across the world, and in many cases moving a lot faster than political leadership is either aware of or able to respond to," Kerry said.

-'People must act'-

French intellectual Jacques Attali, once an advisor to former president François Mitterrand, asked "what are the people supposed to do when democracy has been betrayed by those they brought to power?"

People stand on the awning outside the regional government building

in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on March 1, 2014 (AFP, Sergey Bobok)

"The people have to act, demonstrate, remind the leaders of their promises. And if they don't succeed in convincing them, they have to bring them down," wrote Attali in his blog for the French magazine L'Express.

Despite accusations from Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro that the US is fomenting unrest in his country, analysts see little direct involvement by Washington in triggering revolts even if later on, such as in Ukraine, there is an open eagerness to help the struggle towards democracy.

Top US diplomat for Europe, Victoria Nuland, even visited the protestors on Independence Square in Kiev in December to hand out bread in a high-profile show of support for their desire to move closer to Europe and away from the clutches of the communist authorities in Moscow, which since the end of the Cold War has had difficult ties with the US.

"It is accurate to say that where regimes violate human rights, move in that direction or are involved in corruption, that those patterns of behavior are viewed negatively by the US, the UK and other countries," said Mark Schneider, senior vice president of the International Crisis Group.

"But I think that it is rare that they move from that judgment to support in any way violent activities. I think they are almost always somewhat surprised by the depth, power, determination to accept sacrifice by people in certain circumstances."

The situation in Thailand, a constitutional monarchy since 1932 where the king is highly revered, is somewhat unique.

Protestors have been pressing for Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to step aside in favor of an unelected "people's council" to introduce vaguely defined reforms such as tackling alleged corruption.

- A new 'class conflict'-

An anti-corruption panel is now pressing negligence charges against Yingluck that could lead to her removal from office and a five-year ban from politics.

Demonstrators stand next to car on fire during a protest against the

 government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in San Cristobal, capital

 of the western border state of Tachira, Venezuela, on February 22, 2014 

(AFP/File, Luis Robayo)

But Paul Chambers, director of research at the Institute of South East Asian Affairs at Chiang Mai University, harked back to the radical philosophers of the early 20th century to draw parallels with a new "class conflict."

"Dominant parties which continue to benefit from such (elite) systems are seen by mostly middle and upper classes as impediments to freedom and facilitators of corruption," argued Chambers, while lower classes have a more basic desire for empowerment found just by casting a vote.

"These clashing concepts of democracy and democratic legitimacy threatens to rapidly destabilize the political essence of mostly young democracies, reducing nations to potential civil war, a rebirth of tyranny and economic malaise," argued Chambers.

Kerry called late Friday for an investigation into "politically-motivated" attacks which have left 23 people dead in Thailand, including four children, but renewed assurances that Washington is not taking sides in the upheaval.

He had the same message for Venezuela urging dialogue and revealing that the United States is working with its allies in South America to find an acceptable third party to help mediate an end to three weeks of often violent protests against Maduro's lefist government.

"Unlike in Ukraine, right now in Venezuela there is no an alternative power strong enough to initiate regime change," said political professor Carlos Romero from the Universidad Central de Venezuela.

He bemoaned that so far there had been no international effort to end the violence, unlike the diplomatic flurry around Ukraine and Egypt, an absence he attributed to his country's lack of geopolitical significance.

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