U.N. EXPERT: THAILAND MUST INVESTIGATE ALLEGATIONS OF EXECUTIONS DURING
DRUGS WAR

GENEVA - Thai authorities must investigate alleged breaches of human rights
by law enforcement officials during a government-launched crackdown on the
drugs trade, a United Nations expert said Monday.

Asma Jahangir, the U.N. expert on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary
executions, said Thailand should ensure "the strict limits on the use of
lethal force ... are followed rigorously and without exception."

There have been nearly 500 slayings, many in murky circumstances, since the
crackdown began on the drugs trade on Feb. 1.

Jahangir, a Pakistani lawyer, called on Thai authorities to investigate
each death to assess whether law enforcement officials were involved. They
should ensure "the perpetrators of human rights violations are brought to
justice in accordance with national and international standards," she said.

Thai authorities said police were involved in just 22 of the killings, and
that those were in self-defense. They blamed the other deaths on drug gangs
seeking to silence potential informants.

But human rights advocates fear police officers are arranging the killings
or executing suspects without trial. London-based Amnesty International
called the crackdown "a de facto shoot-to-kill policy" that encourages
killings and puts police officers under heavy pressure to produce results
or lose their jobs.

Thai law enforcement officials have said it is possible some rogue officers
are involved in executions, but defend the crackdown as an essential way to
rid the community of drugs.