The convictions demonstrated Thailand’s willingness to hold to account government officials who committed these heinous crimes, said US Embassy spokesperson Steve Castonguay. “We hope the case will catalyse further systemic changes by the Thai government to eliminate human trafficking,” he said. This trial will show that we are on the right track to suppress human trafficking, which will benefit our TIP Report ranking next year,” said Human Rights Commissioner Angkana Neelapaijit. “Rohingya human-trafficking victims are different from the other victim groups, because they do not have a home country to send them back. “I hope this trial will be the first step for more action in the other cases,” he added.

Source: The Nation Bangkok July 20, 2017 12:22 UTC