Court has every right to order arrest of Pheu Thai MP: Wan Noor

House Speaker Wan Muhammad Noor Matha said on Thursday that the judiciary can order the arrest of an MP while the Parliament is in session without seeking approval from the House.

Wan Noor said the Narathiwat Court has sent a copy of the summonses addressed to Pheu Thai MP General Phisal Wattanawongkhiri. He said the court was seeking approval to arrest Phisal over charges of being responsible for the death of 78 protesters in Narathiwat’s Tak Bai district on October 25, 2004.

Wan Noor said that according to the fourth paragraph of Article 125 of the 2017 Constitution, the judiciary had the right to try an MP while the Parliament is in session, provided the trials do not hinder their attendance at House meetings.

“For example, on the days meetings are held, Phisal and attend them. On days when there are no meetings, he can be summoned for a court appearance. If he refuses to appear in court, then it can order its arrest without seeking permission from the House first,” Wan Noor said.

He added that Article 125 of the charter aimed to protect MPs from being persecuted by those in power, but the charter also gives the court the power to arrest the MP.
Article 125 reads:

“During a session, no Member of the House of Representatives or Senator shall be arrested, detained or summoned by a warrant for inquiry as a suspect in a criminal case unless permission of the House of which he or she is a member is obtained or he or she is arrested in flagrante delicto”.

However, its fourth paragraph states that:

“In case a criminal charge is brought against a Member of the House or Representatives or a Senator, whether the House is in session or not, the Court may try the case during the session, provided that the trial shall not hinder such member from attending the sitting of the House.”

Phisal was among seven defendants named in a lawsuit filed by the families of 48 out of 78 protesters who died while being transported on military trucks following a crackdown on the protest outside Tak Bai police station on October 25, 2004.

The Narathiwat Court summoned Phisal and six other defendants to appear in court on September 12 to enter their plea and examine evidence of the plaintiffs, but nobody turned up. So, the court sent a copy of the summons for Wan Noor to approve his arrest.

Other defendants included General Chalemchai Wiroonphet, former commander of the Fifth Infantry Division.

On Wednesday, the Office of the Attorney-General announced that the attorney-general has also ordered the prosecution of Chalermchai and seven military truck drivers for causing deaths to the 78 protesters, but Phisal was not among the suspects named by the OAG.

Wan Noor said now that the court has sent a summon order against Phisal to him, he would send it to the House Secretariat’s legal division to consider what to do next.

He added that the secretariat had informed him that Phisal was on sick leave with medical certification from his doctor.