A Buddhist Thai youth has been indicted for alleged involvement in the separatist movement for the independence of Thailand’s three southernmost provinces, which are predominantly Muslim Malay.
According to the BBC Thai service, the public prosecutor on 15 October 2015 indicted the first ever Buddhist Thai in a rebellion case related to the Deep South insurgency.
Mr. A [name not disclosed to protect his identity] faces possible capital punishment if found guilty by the Juvenile and Family Court of Narathiwat.
The Yala native was charged after the police found that his DNA sample matched those found on a pair of trousers and a loincloth seized at a militant base in Ra-ngae District, Narathiwat Province. After a clash between militants and the Thai authorities on 9 February 2014, about 90 items, including the trousers and loincloth, were confiscated from the base.
Mr. A, a former Buddhist novice at a temple in Bannang Sata District, Yala Province, denied all allegations. 11 Muslim Malays face similar charges from the same incident, but they are being tried in the Criminal Court of Narathiwat. Bannang Sata District is recognized as the heartland of the separatist movement and is regarded as the most dangerous district in the Deep South provinces, while Ra-ngae is ranked number two by Deep South Watch.