Thailand indicts 2 Uygur men for deadly Bangkok shrine bombing that killed 20 people

A military court in Thailand on Tuesday indicted two men police say carried out a deadly August bombing at a central Bangkok shrine that left 20 people dead, including six Chinese visitors.

The August 17 blast at the popular Erawan Shrine was one of the most serious acts of violence in Bangkok in decades. Authorities have declined to call it an act of terrorism out of apparent fear that it would hurt the country's huge tourism industry.

The two suspects, identified as Bilal Mohammad and Mieraili Yusufu, were indicted on 10 counts — none of them terrorism charges — connected to the blast. The charges included conspiracy to explode bombs and commit premeditated murder, said defense lawyer Chuchart Kanpai.

Both men have been described by officials as ethnic Uygurs from western China's Xinjiang region. Officials say the blast was carried out by a people-smuggling gang seeking revenge on Thai authorities for cracking down on their operation.

Thai officials say there was no political or religious motive behind the attack but scepticism about the police explanation on the shrine attack has abounded because of leaks, contradictions, misstatements and secrecy surrounding the investigation.

The two men have been held at an army base since their arrests in late August and early September.