A Thai court’s examination of 500 witnesses in a case against 88 suspected human traffickers will take as long as two years, a court official said on Tuesday, meaning verdicts in a case that sparked an international outcry are even further away.
The defendants, including a senior general, were brought before a Bangkok court on Tuesday for examination of evidence and witnesses following a crackdown on Thailand’s lucrative smuggling syndicates.
“There are 500 witnesses in this case. Altogether it will take around 200 meetings to review witnesses which means examination will take two years,” a court official told reporters.
The investigation and arrests followed the discovery in May of 30 bodies in a grave near a human trafficking camp on a hillside deep in a jungle near the Thailand-Malaysia border, which sparked an international outcry. However, some rights groups have questioned Thailand’s commitment to end the illegal trade following the resignation on the weekend of a senior policeman in the investigation.
Major General Paween Pongsirin, whose team led many of the arrests, said on Monday an order to transfer him to Thailand’s south would expose him to revenge by members of trafficking syndicates still at large.
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