GRANTS POLITICAL ASYLUM TO PHRA AJAHN YANTRA (or PHRA WINAI LA-ONGSUWAN)

On June 19, 1997, Judge Rico J. Bartolomei, of the United States issued a decision in which he stated that Phra Ajahn Yantra, who the Thai Government has called one of the "most wanted men in Thailand," faces "persecution" in Thailand, not "prosecution" for criminal offences.

The Judge, who read his final decision for five hours before a courtroom packed with Phra Ajahn Yantra's supporters in San Diego, California, stated that he found Phra Ajahn Yantra to be a credible witness who had testified in a genuine, candid and unassuming fashion. He further stated that Phra Ajahn Yantra had been consistent during intense cross-examination. After hearing evidence presented by Phra AjahnYantra's legal representative, United States human rights lawyer Peter Schey, as well as evidence provided by the Thai Government and presented by lawyer for the United States Government, Thomas Haine, the Judge decided that the Government of Thailand had violated well-established international law when, in 1995, it charged Phra Ajahn Yantra with "defaming unnamed Government officials A delighted Phra Ajahn Yantra and his attorney, Peter Schey following the successful outcome of the trial. and the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand" in a speech Phra Ajahn Yantra gave in a temple in Bangkok on March 15, 1995. The Judge concluded that the speech did not insult anyone, and even if it had, bringing a criminal charge based on the speech violated Phra Ajahn Yantra's right to freedom of expression, a right recognized in both the Thai Constitution and in international law.The Judge observed that the Thai Government was attempting to silence Phra Ajahn Yantra and strip him of his monkhood because of his wide popularity in Thailand and his message against corruption, bribery, and the drug and sex trades.The Judge took note that even after Phra Ajahn Yantra fled Thailand in fear for his life in July 1995, the Thai Government tried to work in collaboration with the United States Government to hunt Phra Ajahn Yantra down and forcibly return him to Thailand. The United States Government told the Thai Government to keep this effort "secret" so that "human rights organizations do not become involved" which could make matters more difficult for the Thai Government. In secret communications to the United States Government, copies of which Phra Ajahn Yantra's lawyer was able to obtain through the United States courts, the Thai Government made very clear that it intended to imprison Phra Ajahn Yantra without bail if he was returned to Thailand. The Thai Government offered to send police to the United States to take custody of Phra Ajahn Yantra and escort him back to Thailand. The United States Government wrote in one document that the Thai Government was "insisting" that Phra Ajahn Yantra be returned to Thailand where he would be jailed, even without consideration of legal procedures set out in the U.S.-Thai extradition treaty. The Judge also quoted from United States documents which report that in 1996 prisoners in Thai jails were beaten, tortured to obtain confessions, and some were killed. The Judge also pointed out that the credible reports exist that some officials of the Government of Thailand are themselves involved in the illicit activities that Phra Ajahn Yantra criticized in his Dhamma talks, and that these officials made it their business to repeatedly and falsely defame Phra Ajahn Yantra in the Thai media during 1995. The Judge pointed out that the weight of the evidence established that the allegations that Phra Ajahn Yantra had broken his vow of celibacy were without foundation, and that these charges may have been cooked up because certain officials in the Thai Government wanted to destroy Phra Ajahn Yantra. He was found not guilty at a religious hearing of the sex-related charges. The Judge commented that the hearing appeared to have followed basic due process. The Judge also commented that a report by the Department of State gave credence to the belief that the Thai media was controlled by the Thai government. The Thai media had publicised the sex-related charges intensely for more than one year. After being forced to disrobe, Phra Yantra temporarily wore a green robe

At the request of the Thai Government, the United States Government one year ago also charged Phra Ajahn Yantra with serious criminal offences. The Thai Government claimed that when Phra Ajahn Yantra self-reported to a police station in Bangkok on March 24, 1995, in response to the complaint that he had defamed unnamed Government officials, he was actually "arrested." On a form he filled out for the United States immigration authorities after he fled to the United States, Phra Ajahn Yantra stated that he was not arrested in Thailand, but only self-reported. On June 17, 1997, two days before the Judge announced his decision to grant Phra Ajahn Yantra political asylum, the United States Government dropped all charges that Phra Ajahn Yantra lied on the immigration forms. Phra Ajahn Yantra agreed to plead guilty to a technical offence that he possessed an altered Cambodian passport which he was given to escape Thailand in July 1995, but never used (he was able to leave Thailand using his Thai passport). The United States Government agreed before the Court that this was only a technical violation of the law, and Phra Ajahn Yantra's only "punishment" will be that he teaches Buddhism for 300 hours, something he is happy to do. After the Judge made his decision to grant Phra Ajahn Yantra political asylum in the United States, Phra Ajahn Yantra told his supporters and gathered journalists: "I am very happy with the decision of the courts of the United States. I hope soon to begin travelling throughout the world to teach Buddhism and meditation. I miss my followers in Thailand very much, and I think of them all of the time. I forgive those who wish to persecute me in Thailand. They are misguided and maybe one day will find the strength to face the truth that I am a monk who only wants to teach the way of Buddha, to promote peace, to promote harmony, and to have my country be free of corruption and other illicit and harmful activities. I love all Thai people and I love my country. When the time is right, and my persecutors no longer hold influence, I will return to Thailand, which is where my heart remains even as I speak these words so far away in the United States of America." Phra Ajahn Yantra's legal representative, United States human rights attorney Peter Schey, said after the Court issued its decision: "Phra Ajahn Yantra has won a major victory in the courts of the United States, which are fair and impartial. Those officials in the Thai Government who have tried to destroy Phra Ajahn Yantra should be held accountable for their misconduct before the Courts of Thailand. Their conduct has been a disgrace to Thailand. They have made Thailand look bad in the eyes of the United States and people throughout the world who know of their misdeeds. Phra Ajahn Yantra is a man of peace and loving kindness. He should be commended for having the courage to speak against corruption, not persecuted for this. Phra Ajahn Yantra is now free to teach Buddhism, which is something he loves doing, and he does so well. However, his fundamental human rights will be violated until he is allowed to return to Thailand, without fear that he will be put in jail on cooked-up charges that he insulted "unnamed Government officials," or the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand, who has never once said he was insulted by anything Phra Ajahn Yantra said publicly. It is time now for healing, not further persecution which violates international human rights law and Phra Ajahn Yantra's freedom of expression." For further information you may contact: Peter A. Schey, Attorney at Law, (213) 931-2221. Krerkpong Charnpratheep or Phra Mana Viriyarampo at Sunnataram California Meditation Monastery, Tel. (760) 723-7232.