First hearing of inquest into Fabio’s death | prachatai.com

First hearing of inquest into Fabio’s death | prachatai.com

On 23 July, the Southern Bangkok Criminal Court held the first hearing in the inquest into the death of the Italian photo-journalist Fabio Polenghi who was killed during the government crackdown on red shirts in May 2010.

Pol Col Suebsak Phansura, Deputy Commander of Metropolitan Police 6 and the chief investigator in Fabio’s case, testified that Fabio’s death was likely to have been caused by the action of military troops, who fired high-velocity bullets on a horizontal trajectory at reporters and demonstrators on 19 May 2010.

He said that since late last year when the Department of Special Investigation included Fabio’s case among 16 cases of people who were believed to have been killed by military troops during the political unrest, he had been assigned to head a team to investigate the case, and had examined evidence provided by the DSI and Pathumwan Police Station.

He found that Fabio was killed during the day time on 19 May 2010 near Ratchadamri intersection when he was covering the event.  At that time, military troops were heading toward the intersection and intermittently firing at the demonstrators, he said.

Asked by a judge whether the troops were firing into the air or horizontally, Pol Col Suebsak said, ‘horizontally.’

Fabio was killed while he was running to dodge bullets and taking photographs at the same time.  Turning his back on the armed troops, he was hit in the back by a bullet which went through his left chest.  He was taken by red shirts on a motorcycle to the Police Hospital, and subsequently died, he said.

According to the police officer, during the government crackdown under the command of the Centre for the Resolution of Emergency Situation, 300 troops from the 3rd Cavalry Battalion (Royal Guard) were deployed at Ratchaprasong and Ratchadamri areas.

He said that on that day the cavalry troops were taking control in the area, using armoured vehicles and equipped with HK33 rifles, shotguns and pistols with rubber, blank and live ammunition and hand-thrown tear gas grenades.

His assumption that Fabio was likely to have been killed by the troops has been derived from the interrogation of 47 witnesses, forensic evidence, photographs and video clips provided by foreign reporters.

He, however, could not identify the type of bullet which killed the journalist, as it passed through the body, but he believed that it was a high-velocity bullet, judging from ‘the fact that it pierced the body and the nature of the wound’.

Fabio’s younger sister Elisabetta, who also testified in court, told Prachatai that she had a little more hope after seeing the progress in the justice process.

She said that she did not wish to see the culprits sent to prison, but only wanted to know the truth.

She is visiting Thailand for the 6th time to follow the case of her brother’s death.

Slain reporter's sister calls for 'truth before amnesty' | Bangkok Post

Slain reporter's sister calls for 'truth before amnesty' | Bangkok Post
Achara Ashayagachat, May 16, 2012

The Yingluck government's haste in pushing for an amnesty bill while the people have not yet fully learned the truth about the 2010 political violence is not prudent, the younger sister of an Italian journalist killed during the upheaval, said on Wednesday.

Elisabetta Polenghi shows a painting of her siblings, including the late Fabio, in the middle.

Elisabetta Polenghi's brother Fabio was killed on May 19, 2010 while reporting on the army's lethal crackdown that ended the long protest.

Ms Polenghi, 48, making her fifth visit to Thailand since the tragedy, hoping to speed up the investigation into his death, said people today were not still living in caves, they were quite capable of dealing with the truth.

"I don't agree with the push for amnesty. At the least we should be clear about what happened at such an important historical juncture for Thailand.

"Me, I'm not looking for a revenge, I don't even want to know the name of the person who killed my brother with just one shot.

"But I want to hear from the actors who were responsible that they were wrong. I want the people who were involved to admit their mistakes," said Ms Polenghi, who is from Milan.

Although she had been contacted about receiving financial compensation - and had difficulty understanding and had sought an extension of the registration deadline - she emphasised that her family did not look for a financial remedy, but more for moral compensation.

"I've sent a letter to the Yingluck government seeking some kind of remembrance of the death of not only my brother, but Hiro Muramoto, the Japanese journalist who was also killed during the political violence," Ms Polenghi said.

She suggested there should be a plaque or a sign of some sort in memory of the foreign journalists who were killed recording during this historic upheaval, and maybe a classroom or auditorium named after them as a reminder of the risks people in the profession face bringing the news to the people.

"It would at least tell the world that despite all the bad things that happened, the ensuing governments care about the freedom of the press, and also serve to remind the Thai people not to allow this to happen again," she said.