THAILAND/FILE: Reuters journalist may have been killed by Thai troops say state investigators

Record ID: 644622

  • Title: THAILAND/FILE: Reuters journalist may have been killed by Thai troops say state investigators
  • Date: 17th November 2010
  • Summary: BANGKOK, THAILAND (FILE - APRIL 10, 2010) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) SOLDIERS FIRING INTO AIR DURING CONFRONTATION WITH RED-SHIRTED PROTESTERS VARIOUS SOLDIERS ON GUARD SOLDIERS CARRYING RIFLES SOLDIERS RUNNING WHEN BOMB EXPLODED BODY OF SOLDIER BEING CARRIED AWAY RED-SHIRTED PROTESTERS YELLING BODY OF SOLDIER ON GROUND PROTESTERS CARRYING STICKS
  • Embargoed: 2nd December 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Communications,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA66BN7I9N4R9S9I8F1244ITU2Z
  • Story Text: Reuters cameraman Hiro Muramoto may have been shot by Thai security forces when he was killed during a street protest in April, state investigators said on Tuesday (November 16), calling for a new probe into his death.
    The statement is the first by Thai investigators to acknowledge that a bullet fired by security forces may have killed the 43-year-old journalist.
    "It's still not clear that who are the perpetrators behind those deaths but we have enough information that the government officers were involved in this. Then we have to start to investigate from the begining which we need to do a special forensic work again," Tharit Pengdith, director general of the Department of Special Investigation, told a news conference.
    Muramoto, a Japanese national based in Tokyo with Thomson Reuters, was killed by a high-velocity bullet wound to the chest while covering clashes in Bangkok between anti-government protesters and Thai troops on April 10.
    Twenty-five people, mostly protesters, were killed on April 10 and hundreds wounded.
    Television footage showed Thai troops opening fire on protesters, while soldiers came under attack from grenades and black-clad gunmen moved among the demonstrators.
    The DSI said Muramoto was among six people whose deaths will be further investigated because it was unclear if he was shot by security forces, protesters or unidentified "armed militants".
    The DSI has yet to release findings from its investigation into Muramoto and others killed on April 10 including the source of gunfire, despite intense diplomatic pressure from Japan. It previously said the probe lacked conclusive witness accounts.
    The DSI said on Tuesday that it had evidence that 12 people including seven soldiers were killed by supporters of an anti-government "red shirt" protest movement demanding Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva call fresh elections.
    A senior police official who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue told Reuters on Tuesday that Muramoto was likely caught in a crossfire and there was a "high possibility" that he was shot by the security forces although the case remained inconclusive.
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register