Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday required an urgent, thorough and impartial investigation into the March 20 assassination attempt against Thai lawmaker Kamonsak Leewamoh. The counterinsurgency and security company, Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC), was found to be involved in the attack, raising concerns about the impartiality of the investigation.
Early on the morning of Friday, March 20, four gunmen opened fire on a vehicle connected to Kamonsak. Two were seriously injured, while Kamonsak was unhurt lying down in the back seat of the vehicle to avoid gunfire.
Police later seized a white Toyota pickup truck, which was captured at the scene by a dashcam in Kamonsak’s vehicle. The truck is registered with ISOC and Captain Montri Toprasert, head of the ISOC administration department in Narathiwat, reportedly provided the vehicle for use in the attack. It was him transmitted to ISOC headquarters for an investigation.
A police investigation has revealed identified three suspected gunmen who were involved in the attack. All three have previous military experience. One of the suspected shooters, a former marine, was arrested, while the remaining two – former marines and paramilitaries – remain at large.
HRW Asia Director Elaine Pearson said: “The attack on Kamonsak is a crucial test of the Thai government’s promises to promote and protect human rights. Thai authorities should take concrete action to protect the rights of those in the southern border provinces who denounce abuses by security forces and demand justice.”
Kamonsak is a Muslim MP and human rights lawyer from the Prachachat Party. He represents Narathiwat Province, a province bordering Malaysia that has experienced decades of violence stemming from an ethnic and religious separatist movement. Because of this history of violence, ISOC frequently operates in the province. Kamonsak is also an attorney at the Muslim Attorney Center Foundation, an organization that works with victims of the Tak Bai massacre trials and other counterinsurgency-related cases in southern Thailand.
In April 2025, leaked documents revealed that the ISOC, which operates under a joint police and military command, identified international human rights groups such as Amnesty International and pro-democracy figures, including lawyers from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights and iLaw, as “high-value targets.” The human rights activists were identified and then targeted as part of a smear campaign and cyberattack against civil society groups.
