BANGKOK: The burnt bones of a community activist who disappeared in Thailand more than five years ago were found under water in a national park, investigators said yesterday, confirming his death for the first time. Rights groups say 30 human rights activists have disappeared or been murdered in Thailand since 2001, and the country is considered one of the deadliest in Asia for environmental defenders.
Known as Billy, ethnic Karen leader Por Cha Lee Rakcharoen was stopped by local authorities at a checkpoint in April 2014 while travelling to meet Karen villagers who had accused officials of destroying their homes in Kaeng Krachan national park. Officials later said he was questioned for illegally gathering honey but released. Divers found his remains in a lake in the same park in April this year, and identified the bones using DNA from his mother. – AFP
