(Mae Sot, February 12, 2025)—On February 12, 2025, the family of Aung Ko Ko, a Myanmar national tortured and killed on the Thailand-Myanmar border, received an emergency grant from the World Organisation Against Torture to support legal fees related to his case and personal expenses for Aung Ko Ko’s family. Fortify Rights served as a bridge between the family and the donor to facilitate the grant.
On November 14, 2024, Fortify Rights published a 44-page report entitled, Death at the Thai-Myanmar Border, documenting the involvement of Thai soldiers in the torture and killing of Aung Ko Ko, and exposing Aung Ko Ko’s innocence. In the report, Fortify Rights highlighted problems with the Thai police investigation into Aung Ko Ko’s death and the trial and conviction of a 24-year-old Myanmar national, Sirachuch, who goes by one name and was an eyewitness to the torture of Aung Ko Ko. Fortify Rights has monitored and provided support to Sirachuch throughout his case.