Fearing for their lives, 131 people, including Hamzah Saud, fled to Malaysia from Southern Thailand, which is being rocked by communal violence, last August.

However, this triggered a diplomatic tussle between the two nations as the Thai government claimed that among the group were militants who allegedly tricked the rest to cross the border and internationalize the issue.

Malaysia, on the other hand, refused to hand them over, despite repeated demands, in the absence of a guarantee from Bangkok that the human rights of the refugees will not be violated.

On Dec 8, Hamzah was repatriated and he was immediately slapped with nine charges, including murder and treason.

In its 31-page report released in Bangkok yesterday, Amnesty International (AI) expressed concern that Hamzah could be handed the death sentence if found guilty.

"AI opposes the death penalty in all cases and has reported on the imposition of death sentences in Thailand," stated the report.

Titled - Thailand, if you want peace, work for justice - the report was based on field research conducted by AI between December 2004 and October 2005.

Excessive force

The report also documented the human rights development in Thailand since 2004, including cases of alleged excessive use of force, threats and attacks against human rights defenders.

Also highlighted were cases of 'possible disappearances', arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment.

As for the 'disappearances', AI claimed that an unspecified number of people have disappeared since the upsurge in violence in early 2004 but attempts by locals to investigate and document the cases have been hampered by attacks and anonymous death threats.

Nevertheless, AI was able to gather first-hand information about four cases of disappearance of Muslim civilians, all of which occurred in the aftermath of the January 2004 weapons theft and army camp raid in Narathiwat.

Impartial investigations

Although it acknowledged the Thai government's duty to protect the people in the south and to bring to justice perpetrators of human rights abuses, AI said any action taken must be in full conformity with international human rights laws.

Among others, the human rights watchdog recommended that the Thai government initiates prompt and impartial investigations into all allegations of human rights violations and ensure that detainees' rights such as the right to legal counsel and adequate medical care are safeguarded.

It also called on the government to ensure that no one is held in unofficial places of detention, that 'blacklists' are not used to detain people without charge and 'disappearances' be made an offence under Thai criminal law.

Apart from this, AI also wants human rights defenders to be allowed to work in safety and attacks against them be promptly investigated.

Since January 2004, hundreds have perished in Southern Thailand. Authorities blame the violence on a complex web of Islamic separatists, organised crime and local corruption.