Activists call for witness protection as major Thai human trafficking trial begins

Thai authorities must step up witness protection for a major human trafficking trial with the accused including an army general and one investigator fleeing the country fearing for his life, activists said on 24 December as the first witnesses gave evidence.

The case includes 88 defendants allegedly involved with lucrative smuggling gangs that were trafficking Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Myanmar, holding them for ransom in jungle camps before granting onward passage to Malaysia.

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