Pathma has been incarcerated in Lard Yao Prison, Bangkok for 22 years. When
she was very little, her entire family moved from Thailand to the United
States. Everyone except Pathma acquired American citizenship. She has
permanent US residency and for some reason, she though that it would be
enough to gain access and support via the US Consulate.
America has a transfer treaty with Thailand, so for the past 10 years or
so, Pathma has tried to get citizenship in order to apply for a transfer to
the United States. She qualifies for everything; the only thing is the
swearing in of the oath. The prison authorities deny her going to the US
Embassy to do that. The Oath must be performed on American ground [US
Embassy is based on sovereign soil].
Pathma was originally sentenced to life imprisonment but due to various
amnesties, that sentence has been commuted to 35 years. At 43 years of age,
Pathma's only wish now is to be reunited with her family living in the
United States. She struggles for her daily existence and is in dire need of
social, moral and financial support. She is incarcerated in Butsarakham
Building, room 6, Lard Yao Prison.
1 February 2006: FPSS would like to acknowledge Karolina Johnsson of
Bryggan Abroad (Sweden) for providing this information and further updates
relating to this and other cases. We are thankful for the mutual
cooperation and joint efforts that exist between our two organizations.
