Kritsuda Khunasen, the red-shirt activist who was illegally detained by the junta, said in her latest video clip that the military gave her paracetamol and anti-inflammatory drugs to remove the traces of torture. With the drugs and the period of time between when she was assaulted and when she appeared on TV, her bruises had disappeared.
The clip is from the same interview via Skype with Jom Petchpradab, an independent journalist, but was just released on Monday afternoon.
Kritsuda was arrested on 27 May and
released on June 24, after she
appeared on TV on 23 June. In total, she was detained for 29 days. Under martial law, now in force across the country, the authorities may detain individuals only as long as is necessary and for no longer than seven days. The length of Kritsuda’s detention therefore made it illegal.
When military officers allegedly suffocated her by covering her head with a plastic bag and with a piece of cloth, she said, she became unconscious and the military then splashed water on her.
During the interrogation, she was asked repeatedly why she had to help red-shirt political prisoners and who funded her.
She said she never saw the faces of the people who assaulted her because all the time, she was blindfolded and her hands were bound on the first seven days of the detention. During this period, a female officer would help her when eating, taking a bath, and when she wanted to go to the toilet. She said while she was naked while taking bath, she heard a male voice.
Her boyfriend, who was detained in a military camp and later charged with illegal possession of arms, was thrown into a waste water treatment pond, the activist said.
“My boyfriend is now deeply depressed. I almost don’t understand him when we talk.”
She added that a female military officer told her that some other detainees were also assaulted and that her boyfriend told her he witnessed other detainees having bruises all over their bodies.
In late June, Kritsuda was the focus of media and human rights organizations’ attention because during her detention, no one was able to contact her and it was not known where she was detained. After rumours that she was tortured, Kritsuda appeared on a special TV program with the military junta spokesman and said she was “happier than words can say”.
On Saturday, a video clip of
her interview with Jom was released. Kritsuda said she has fled Thailand to start a new life in Europe and that she was forced to compliment the military and say she was very happy during her detention.
On Sunday, the junta spokesman
denied all allegations, saying that the army had treated her very well, that Kritsuda had been very cooperative, and that her happiness was genuine.
