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Published: 28/06/2012 at 01:34 AM
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Newspaper section: News
The Appeals Court yesterday handed down a life sentence to a
member of the Pattani United Liberation Organisation (Pulo), a separatist
movement, reversing the Criminal Court's earlier decision to drop all charges
against him.
Prosecutors indicted Koseng Cheloh, also called Useng, on
charges of rebellion and illegal assembly of weapons and men to conduct
terrorist activities with the aim of separating five southern border provinces
from the Kingdom.
The court was told that between 1968 and Feb 10, 1998, Mr Koseng
and other Pulo members recruited Muslims into the separatist movement, extorted
protection money from businessmen in the five southern border provinces and
used the money to set up armed units to conduct terrorist activities.
Prosecutors
said these activities included attacks on government installations, destroying
rail tracks with bombs and burning down bridges and schools, resulting in
extensive damage and a large number of casualties.
The court was also told that in 1998, Mr Koseng was named by
Hayee Dao, who was arrested on suspicion of being a head of the new Pulo, as
the leader of a sub-group of Pulo operating in cities.
Mr Koseng was arrested on Dec 7, 2005, on a murder charge and
was then identified as a man called Zakarim, which he insisted was not his
name.
However, police investigators testified they later learned the
name Zakarim was a pseudonym of the Pulo sub-group allegedly controlled by Mr
Koseng.
Authorities also obtained a picture of Mr Koseng's ID card in a
raid in the far South.
The search turned up more evidence suggesting that he and
another suspect, Manaze Jeloh, had a role in terrorist-style weapons training.
Mr Koseng failed to prove his claim that he had lived in
Malaysia for 10 years and spent some years studying in Syria and Libya, the
Appeals Court said.
The Criminal Court dismissed the case against Mr Koseng on Dec
1, 2008, on the grounds that evidence against him was doubtful.
The state chose to appeal, and the Appeals Court yesterday
sentenced Mr Koseng to death. The sentence was commuted to a life sentence on
the grounds that his testimony was useful.
จากความพยายามของรัฐไทยทุกสมัยจนถึงปัจจุบันในสมัยของพรรคเพื่อไทยเป็นรัฐบาล และมีนายกยิ่งลักษณ์ ชินวัตร นายกรัฐมนตรีหญิงคนแรกของประเทศไทยเป็นนายกรัฐมนตรีและการทำงานของฝ่ายความมั่นคงพร้อมด้วยหน่วยงานทุกส่วนที่พยายามหาสาเหตุและรากเหง้าของกลุ่มขบวนการ
