Thailand: Environmental activist killed
Event- Country
- Thailand
- Initial Date
- Feb 25, 2013
- Final Date
- Feb 25, 2013
- Event Description
On 2 February 2013, Prajob Nao-opas - a prominent environmentalist in Chachoengsao province was shot dead by a gunman. He was shot four times at a garage on the Phanom Sarakham-Ban Sang road in Chachoengsao province's Phanom Sarakham district as he was waiting for mechanics to repair his pickup truck. The gunman escaped in a getaway car. Since February 2012, Prajob had led villagers in a campaign to expose the dumping of toxic waste in Chachoengsao province's Phanom Sarakham and Plaeng Yao districts.In December 2012, Prajob told his family that he had received warnings from the Chachoengsao police that there might be an attempt on his life. Since then, he noticed and reported to the police that he was frequently followed and photographed by unidentified men on motorcycles. Despite these explicit threats, no one at either provincial or national level proposed any protective measures for Prajob. UPDATE- 2 April 2013- Joint Allegation Letter sent to Thailand by the Independent Expert on the issue of human rights obligations related to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, and the Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes. UPDATE- 10 April 2013- Two air force personnel and a Department of Industrial Works senior official were arrested in connection with the murder, and will be charged with murder.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- Killing
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Not active
- Event Location
Latitude: 13.5491
Longitude: 101.61578
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
25/02/2013 - Prajob Nao-opas, a prominent environmentalist, was shot dead by a gunman in Chacheongsao province, 20 miles east of Bangkok, after spending the past year fighting illegal toxic waste disposal by various industrial estates in the region. This came after numerous explicit threats which Prajob reported to the police. UPDATE- 2 April 2013- Joint Allegation Letter sent to Thailand by the Independent Expert on the issue of human rights obligations related to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, and the Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes. UPDATE- 10 April 2013- Two air force personnel and a Department of Industrial Works senior official were arrested in connection with the murder, and will be charged with murder.