Will justice be done in rape case?

This letter is probably the last act of my life. It is sent to you out of despair. I'm a French citizen retired in Buri Ram. I am also the grandfather of a young and beautiful six-year-old Thai-French girl, the daughter of my son, my flesh and blood. Two months ago my granddaughter revealed to us that her half-brother had raped her in her mother's village. Her divorced mother had been away in the United States for eight months.

The police wanted to arrest my son in Bangkok for kidnapping because he refused to send his daughter back to Buri Ram after her ordeal. Despite a police record of the rape and help from Mrs Paveena's women's-aid foundation, a Buri Ram judge ruled that my granddaughter had to be returned to her mother's village - and thus back into the hands of the predator. Seeing her taken away in tears, so frightened, was the worst day of my life.

I'm 65 and have suffered three strokes, but I'll fight for her and my son. We have pressed criminal charges against the rapist and gathered a lot of support from friends, both Thai and foreign. But it has been one week now with no news from our child. It is killing me.

The rapist will appear in Buri Ram court on February 8. I'm urging everyone to be there in sympathy and support to try and free my granddaughter from this nightmare.

Before my next stroke takes me, shall I see fairness, humanity and justice in Thailand?

Jean Branens

Bangkok