Thai authorities detain Kiwi and allegedly strip him of clothes, food and medicine following drug charges

Ari Michael Salinger and his partner Vanessa Pagarigan in Phuket. Photo / Supplied

The father of a Kiwi man detained in a Thai jail after being found with drugs says the violation of his son’s human rights has been appalling.

Last September Ari Michael Salinger was charged with drug possession after Thai authorities found him with two ecstasy pills.

The 45-year-old was remanded on bail and had his passport confiscated until he appeared in court on Monday for sentencing where he was ordered to be deported back to New Zealand.

His family all anticipated his deportation imminently but his father, esteemed climate scientist Jim Salinger, said things unfolded much differently due to somewhat of a catch-22 situation where his Thai visa expired while on bail.

Following sentencing, Jim said Ari was expected to be kept at Patong Police Station in Phuket for only one night but instead was kept for three.

“That’s when he had all his clothes removed, he had to sleep on the floor and it was extremely difficult to get food and other things,” said Jim.

“All I’ll say is the conditions in that jail are appalling.”

It is understood that Ari had to sleep naked and his prescription medicine was also taken off of him.

On Thursday, he was finally transferred to an Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok but Jim is not entirely convinced that the conditions there are great either after reading about other New Zealander’s experiences in the detention centre.

“The reports we’re getting [are] much better but I’m a bit wary... that’s not a nice place,” he said.

Kiwi man Ari Michael Salinger was detained by Thai authorities and allegedly had his basic human rights violated. Photo / Supplied

In 2019, Kiwi Olympic cyclist Marc Ryan spent four nights in an immigration detention centre in Bangkok due to a visa mix-up.

He described it as a filthy jail where he spent two nights in a cell with six others and without a blanket, and another two nights in a larger cell with up to 80 people with only two toilets - detainees had to sleep on the floor with just centimetres between bodies.

Ari had travelled away from his home and family in the Phillipines to Thailand to renew his visa in 2020 when he got stuck there due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ari Michael Salinger and his partner Vanessa Pagarigan in Phuket. Photo / Supplied

His pregnant partner Vanessa Pagarigan has now also travelled to Thailand in a desperate attempt to get him out of the country.

“Luckily he has his partner there and she is sort of running back and forth supplying food and drink, apparently in the immigration detention centres they do provide meals but [they’re] not particularly nice,” said Jim.

“In the jail they weren’t doing anything.”

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said that The New Zealand Embassy in Bangkok is providing Ari with consular assistance but for privacy reasons they could not provide any more information.