Mustafa*, a Palestinian from Syria, was finally freed to leave Thailand last month. After serving almost two years in a Thai jail and one month in an immigration detention facility on charges of illegally entering the country, the 38-year-old was released to be reunited with his young daughter and wife.
“I am glad he is free now, but it’s unfortunate the real cause of the problem has not been fixed,” said his lawyer Kohnwilai Teppunkoonngam.
Mustafa broke the law by using a fake passport to enter the country, but he was also a victim of an international people smuggling network, said Ms Kohnwilai.
The lawyer declined to reveal where he is now, since Mustafa will be co-operating with law enforcement agencies to help investigate the network that delivered him to Thailand more than two years ago.
“The real culprits are still out there,” said Ms Kohnwilai, referring to the smuggling ring described by Mustafa in his testimony to the Thai court.
Mustafa came to Thailand from the United Arab Emirates on a fake Greek passport, which he obtained from a Syrian migrant in England. He planned to travel onward to Sweden.
“There had to be more than one person involved in the case because it involved the forgery of travel documents, an agent and transit arrangements. Each has a different level of responsibility,” Ms Kohnwilai said.
The lawyer hopes local efforts to detect the smugglers will continue, even after Mustafa’s departure. “Otherwise, the network may deceive others into coming to Thailand,” she said.
Mustafa knew at least three other Syrians who were tricked into travelling to Thailand in order to make their way to a third country. They were all jailed here on the same illegal entry charge.
“I don’t know what happened to them because they are facing different degrees of punishment based on their individual cases,” said the lawyer.
Mustafa*, a Palestinian from Syria, was finally freed to leave Thailand last month. After serving almost two years in a Thai jail and one month in an immigration detention facility on charges of illegally entering the country, the 38-year-old was released to be reunited with his young daughter and wife. “I am glad he is free now, but it’s unfortunate the real cause of the problem has not been fixed,” said his lawyer Kohnwilai Teppunkoonngam. Mustafa broke the law by using a fake passport to enter the country, but he was also a victim of an international people smuggling network, said Ms Kohnwilai. The lawyer declined to reveal where he is now, since Mustafa will be co-operating with law enforcement agencies to help investigate the network that delivered him to Thailand more than two years ago. “The real culprits are still out there,” said Ms Kohnwilai, referring to the smuggling ring described by Mustafa in his testimony to the Thai court. Mustafa came to Thailand from the United Arab Emirates on a fake Greek passport, which he obtained from a Syrian migrant in England. He planned to travel onward to Sweden. “There had to be more than one person involved in the case because it involved the forgery of travel documents, an agent and transit arrangements. Each has a different level of responsibility,” Ms Kohnwilai said.The lawyer hopes local efforts to detect the smugglers will continue, even after Mustafa’s departure. “Otherwise, the network may deceive others into coming to Thailand,” she said. มุสตาฟารู้ซีเรียที่ถูกหลอกให้เดินทางไปประเทศไทยเพื่อให้ประเทศสามทาง 3 พวกเขาได้ทั้งคุกนี่ชาร์จไม่ถูกต้องรายการเดียวกัน "ฉันไม่ทราบเกิดอะไรขึ้นกับพวกเขา เพราะพวกเขาเผชิญแตกต่างกันของการลงโทษที่ใช้ในกรณีที่แต่ละของพวกเขา ทนายความกล่าว
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