The Martial law gives the military supreme power over the civil authority operating in the region (Section 6)1. It also gives the military full power of search, compulsory requisition, prohibition, seizure, occupation, destruction or alteration of any place, and eviction (Section 8)2. Under the Emergency Decree, state officials have the authority to arrest and detain individuals without charge for up to 30 days by claiming national security (Section 12)3. Since 2004, the conflict has claimed the lives of nearly 5,000 people and injured more than 9,000. The Malayu Muslim minority has overwhelmingly been targeted by the application of these special laws. Those who are charged under national security laws in Southern Border Provinces were "all" Malayu Muslims. Arbitrary detention, torture, and inhumane practices have continuously been reported. From January 2004 to October 2011, there were over 8,000 cases related to national security in the region. Only 16% of those detained were actually charged. The majority of cases were dismissed before reaching court. Of the cases that did reach court, almost 70% were dismissed. One famous case was the case of Imam Yapa Kaseng, local religious leader who was detained in a military camp and brutally tortured to death5. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has expressed deep concern over the situation in Thailand's Southern Border Provinces, reflected strongly in their Concluding 1 M artial L aw, B .E . 2 4 5 7 (1 9 1 4 ); S ec tion 6 . Within the area under the M artial L aw, the military authority s hall hav e s uperior power ov er the c iv il authority in regard to military operation, des is tenc e or s uppres s ion, or k eeping public order. T he c iv il authority s hall ac t in c omplianc e with the requirements of the military authority . 2 M artial L aw, B .E . 2 4 5 7 (1 9 1 4 ); S ec tion 8 . U pon the proc lamation of the M artial L aw in any T ambol, M uang or M onthon, the military authority s hall hav e full power of s earc h, c ompuls ory requis ition, prohibition, s eizure, s tay ing in, des truc tion or alteration of any plac e and turning out of pers ons . 3 E mergenc y D ec ree on P ublic A dminis tration in S tate of E mergenc y , B .E . 2 5 4 8 (2 0 0 5 ) ; S ec tion 1 2 . (1 ) S o as to arres t and res train any s us pec t purs uant to the announc ement under s ec tion 1 1 (1 ), the c ompetent authority s hall s eek for the permis s ion of the juris dic tional c ourt or C riminal C ourt. U pon s uc h approv al, the c ompetent authority may arres t and res train the s us pec t for not more than s ev en day s ; required that the res traint mus t be held in a des ignated plac e not being a polic e s tation, detention c hamber, pris on or penal ins titution, and that the s us pec t may not be treated as an offender. In c as es the res traint needs to be c ontinued for the s ak e of the res olution of the s tate of emergenc y , the c ompetent authority s hall reques t the c ourt for s ev eral s uc c es s iv e ex tens ions not ex c eeding s ev en day s eac h; pres c ribed, howev er, that the total