Fabio Polenghi fatally shot by military, inquest finds

Fabio Polenghi fatally shot by military, inquest finds

Fabio Polenghi
Fabio Polenghi

The Southern Bangkok Criminal Court on Wednesday ruled that Italian journalist Fabio Polenghi was killed by a bullet fired by the security forces during the May 19, 2010 dispersal of the red-shirt protestors.

The court said he was hit and killed by a .223 calibre high velocity bullet while he was running away from Ratchadamri road towards  Ratchaprasong intersection. The fatal bullet was identified by retired police forensic scientist Amporn Jaruchinda.

The only group that had been identified as being in that area at the time was the Second Cavalry Division, the King's Guard, which was beginning the dispersal of protesters, moving from Sala Daeng towards Ratchaprasong, the court said.

It therefore concluded that the authorities were responsible for the Italian journalist’s death, although the person who fired the gun could not be identified.

Fabio Polenghi (Photo by Kosol Nakachol)

"Thai PBS reporter Manit Kamnan and foreign journalist Bradley Cox testified to the court about the situation on that very day. Mr Cox himself was also shot and he saw Mr Polenghi being shot too," the court said in its finding.

The court also cited testimony of Pol Lt Col Watcharat Chalermsooksant, of  the Justice Ministry's Central Institute of Forensic Science, who said the bullet came from the direction of the soldiers moving from Sala Daeng towards Ratchaprasong intersection.

The court detailed the weaponry the soldiers were using on that day - including armoured personnel carriers, M-16s, SK-33s, and shotguns, and blank and real bullets.

The court also referred to testimony by Michel Maas, another foreign journalist who was hit by a bullet from an M-16, one of the firearms carried by the soldiers as personal weapons.

All the witnesses testified to the best of their knowledge. It could therefore be concluded that Fabio Polenghi was fatally wounded  by a bullet from a military weapon and died as a consequence at the Police General Hospital, the court said.

Polenghi's mother Laura Chiorri was at the court for the  ruling. She said she was happy that at last the family now knew who (as a group) took her son's life.

The victim's sister, Elisabetta Polenghi, who has made several trips to Thailand during the investigation, did not want to comment right away as she needed time to reflect on the decision. She said she would comment at a press conference this evening.

Shawn Crispin, Senior Southeast Asia Representative with the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, said the ruling was a big first step in the fight against the impunity of the authorities in answering for their actions.

"It is good the ruling is issued the right way. I think the international pressure and attention on this case has helped," said Mr Crispin.

Representatives from the Italian embassy showed up for the second time since the inquest began in July 2012, but declined to say anything.

This is the first ruling of an inquest into the death of a foreign journalist during the crackdown, and the sixth ruling to place responsibility for deaths on the authorities.

(Continued below photo)

                                     Elisabetta Polenghi, left, and Laura Chiorri (Photo by Patipat Janthong)

The Polenghi family's lawyer, Karom Polpornklang, said Mrs Chiorri and her two daughters, who also attended the inquest, were "satisfied" with the finding.

"They will now proceed to push a case against Abhisit Vejjajiva and Suthep Thaugsuban, who were responsible for ordering the crackdown," he said.

Mr Abhisit was prime minister in 2010, and Mr Suthep was his deputy and in charge of security.

A Thailand representative for Human Rights Watch, Sunai Pasuk, said the finding highlighted the need to hold the military to account for the 2010 deaths, not just the politicians.

"According to Human Rights Watch's research, there was no order given to shoot unarmed civilians, so the commanders and soldiers on the ground should be held accountable," Mr Sunai said.

"The current government has adopted a blanket policy of shielding the commanders and soldiers involved in the crackdown," Mr Sunai said. "So the military remains untouchable, despite the court's ruling." 

Rescue workers wrenched Polenghi's motorcycle helmet off, and rushed him from the street to the nearest hospital, Police General, after he was shot on May 19, 2010. Doctors declared him dead shortly thereafter. (Photos by Reuters, above, and AP)


The court decision indicated that the bullet that killed Polenghi probably came from this unit of troops, which broke down red shirt defences (above) and advanced towards the Ratchaprasong area on the morning of May 19, 2010) (Photos by AP, AFP respectively)

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