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| Pen on paper by Liz Peterson, study for a painting |
Prajob Nao-Opas was one of the villagers of the Cachoengsao Province of Thailand who wanted to know why the farm animals were dying. He began to expose and lead protests of an epidemic of illegal waste dumping by industrial estates into ponds in the area. This illegal disposal was creating a carcinogenic cesspool in the farmland and waterways, where testing revealed pollution at 30 times the legal limit.
In the year prior to his death, his efforts had garnered national attention and local action. However, Prajob began to sense that he was being followed and photographed by men on motorcycles. When he brought his concerns to the police, they informed him that his activism was likely putting his life at risk, but they did not investigate or attempt to protect him. On February 25, Prajob was shot and killed by two men on motorcycles while he was waiting for his car to be serviced. His three alleged killers, one of which is a government official, are currently on trial.
Sources:
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Slain-village-leader-fought-firms-dumping-industri-30200829.html
http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/02/26/thailand-investigate-murder-environmentalist
http://bangkok.coconuts.co/news/thailand-called-on-to-investigate-environmentalists-murder
http://www.occupy.com/article/killing-environmental-activists-rises-globally-–-few-convicted
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