Mamarika bin Umar, 40, said he had borne the burden of charges of illegal gathering, illegal possession of weapons and creating a public disturbance during the protest on October 25, 2004 outside Narathiwat's Tak Bai Police Station.

"I've been living in fear since then as I don't know when somebody will hurt me in connection with the case," Mamarika told a seminar at Chulalongkorn University marking the second anniversary of the demonstration.

He said he had nothing to do with the protest as he was just passing through on his way to Tak Bai market. "My wife and I were blocked in front of Tak Bai Police Station and we didn't join the protest."

Mamarika was transported on a military truck along with a thousand other protesters to Pattani, more than 100 kilometres away. He survived the trip because he was on top of a human stack, while 78 protesters trapped at the bottom of the piles of bodies either suffocated or were crushed to death. Six protesters were shot dead during the crackdown.

Of the 1,370 protesters detained that day, 59 were charged with leading the protest. One was shot dead in November last year.

State prosecutors have submitted to the court a list of 1,937 eyewitnesses to support their case but only three have testified so far.

National Human Rights Commissioner Surasri Kosonavin said Fourth Army Area commander Lt-General Viroj Buacharoon agreed during a meeting with lawyers and human rights defenders last week to drop charges against the 58 suspects. The commander has already passed his recommendation to public prosecutors but the Attorney-General's Office has not yet made the final decision, he said.

Supalak Ganjanakhundee

 The Nation