bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Reuters

Two Chinese ethnic Uygur men on Tuesday appeared at a Thai military court and denied all charges against them for involvement in a bombing that killed 20 people, including six Chinese nationals, in Bangkok last year.
Most of those killed in the August 17 explosion at the Erawan shrine near a busy Bangkok intersection were foreigners. More than 120 were wounded by the blast at the shrine, a popular attraction for both tourists and Thais alike.
“I am an innocent Muslim,” Yusufu Mieraili, one of the two suspects, told the court. Mieraili asked the court to accelerate proceedings, as he had already spent six months in jail.
Mieraili and Adem Karadag, also known as Bilal Mohammed, heard the charges against them at a court in the Thai capital’s historic quarters. They arrived shackled and handcuffed with shaved heads and wearing beige Thai prison uniforms.
They faced ten charges, including murder, premeditated murder and illegal possession of explosives.
Police said both men had confessed to having a role in the August 17 explosion.
I am an innocent Muslim
Yusufu Mieraili
Karadag’s lawyer Schoochart Kanpai said on Tuesday that his client had never confessed.
“Defendant number one [Karadag] is not going back on his word,” Schoochart told reporters outside the court. “He never confessed.”
Schoochart said he had asked the court to look into his client’s allegations that he was tortured in custody.
The junta has said it was unlikely the two suspects were tortured while in military custody.
The next stage in the case will take place on April 20-22, when both sides will review evidence, a judge said in court.
No group claimed responsibility for the August attack, which Thai authorities have said was in retaliation for a crackdown on human smuggling gangs and not a terrorist attack.
But some security experts say the bomb was in retaliation for Thailand’s forced repatriation of more than 100 Uygurs to China in July rather than in response to a crackdown on human smuggling gangs.
China has long faced criticism for the restrictions it places on religion and culture in Xinjiang, where the majority of Uygurs live.
Police said in December that two other suspects wanted in connection with the bomb had been arrested abroad and that Thailand was in the process of requesting their extradition.
Since then, there has been no progress in bringing the two suspects to Thailand and Thai police said this week they were unsure of the suspects’ whereabouts.
Police have issued warrants for 17 people in connection with the attack. Fifteen of those wanted are still at large.


Translator trouble deepens delay in Bangkok bomb trial

Bangkok bomb trial looms without masterminds in dock

Translator for Bangkok bombing suspects held on drug charges

‘I’m not an animal’: shackled Thailand bomb suspect calls out famous ‘Elephant Man’ line as he is lead to court in front of waiting cameras

Bangkok shrine bombing

Chinese Uygur suspects deny Bangkok bomb charges in court

epa05163903 Erawan Shrine's bombing main suspect, identified by Thai police as Adem Karadag (L, front), and Yusufu Mieraili (C, back) are escorted by officers and prison personnel to the Military Court, in Bangkok, Thailand, 16 February 2016. A military court in Thailand on 24 November 2015, charged two men accused of carrying out a deadly explosion in central Bangkok in August. The bomb attack at a Hindu shrine killed 20 people, mostly tourists, and injured more than 120. Adem Karadag and Yusufu Mieraili each face 10 charges, including premeditated murder, but not terrorism, Thai media reported. The two suspects arrived at the military court in Bangkok on 16 February 2016, in handcuffs and escorted by the police. Karadag, identified initially by the name Bilal Muhammed, and Mieraili have been detained at an army base since they were arrested in August and September, respectively. Adem Karadag has retracted his confession of being involved in the attack claiming he was coerced into con

Adem Karadag (left), and Yusufu Mieraili (back) are escorted by officers and prison personnel to the Military Court, in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo: EPA

News

Asia

Southeast Asia