The Bangkok Military Court on
Tuesday indicted the two key suspects
in the Erawan shrine bombing on ten
charges.
A lawyer for one of the men said
military prosecutors yesterday
brought ten counts against Bilal Mohammed, aka
Adem Karadag,
and Yusufu Mieraili, including premeditated murder, illegal
possession of weapons and premeditated attempted murder for
the bombing in
August.
"The court has accepted the ten
charges that prosecutors formally
brought against the two men," said
Choochart Khanpai,
Mr Mohammed's lawyer.
Shortly after the two appeared
today, the United Nations called
on the government to stop holding civilian
suspects in army
detention, AFP reported.
Authorities say Mr Mohammed has
allegedly confessed to placing
a rucksack with explosives at the Erawan shrine
on Aug 17
while Mr Mieraili allegedly confessed to detonating the bomb,
leaving
20 foreign tourists and Thais killed and 130 injured.
The suspects were taken from the
temporary prison at the
11th Military Circle in Bangkok's Dusit district to the
Military Court in Phra Nakhon on Tuesday morning where
they were asked if they
wanted to use English- or
Turkish-speaking interpreters.
Mr Choochart said neither defendant
entered a plea today
because further arrangements were needed to provide an
interpreter for his client. He said Mr Mohammed could not
communicate in
English well and he refused to use a Thai-American
police officer who has been
serving as an interpreter for him
and Mr Mieraili.
However, Mr Mieraili accepted Pol Lt
Col Thuaythep David
Wiboonsilp of the Special Branch Bureau's Foreign Affairs
Division, who has appeared alongside the two men since the
Erawan blast
investigation, as his interpreter.
Documents sent by prosecutors to the
court said both men were
Chinese nationals from the Uighur minority.
Mr Mohammed asked the court to
appoint an Uzbek man to
be his interpreter but the prosecutors opposed the
request, saying
the man's background was not known and needed checking.
Mr Choochart will submit information
about the Uzbek man
within 15 days.
The court set Feb 16 for the
defendants to formally hear the
charges and enter their pleas.
Mystery still shrouds the motive for
the unclaimed attack,
with police still not confirming the nationalities of the
suspects.
The shrine that was targeted is
particularly popular among
ethnic Chinese visitors from across Asia, who made
up the
majority of those killed.
Strong speculation had centred on a
link to militants or supporters
of the Uighurs, an ethnic group who say they
face persecution
in their homeland in China's Xinjiang region, after Thailand
in
July forcibly deported a group of 109 Uighurs back to China.
Police have rejected the notion that
the bomb was a revenge
attack for the recent deportations.
AFP reported that China on Tuesday
said it hoped justice would
be delivered.
"This bombing fully reveals the
barbarity of the criminals,"
Hong Lei, spokesman for China's Ministry of
Foreign Affairs,
told reporters at a regular briefing. "We hope that
justice can
be delivered, and relevant people can be held accountable for
what
they have done."
Meanwhile, the UN reiterated its
opposition to the use of military
courts for civilians.
"The use of a military barracks
as a detention facility is prone
to human rights violations, including
torture," said Matilda
Bogner from the UN Human Rights Office for South
East Asia.
The UN added that it had received
reports a lawyer representing
one of the Bangkok bomb suspects "was not
allowed to meet
with his client in a confidential manner, and that he had his
questions screened beforehand" at the barracks.
News,Crime,Bangkok Post 24 November 2015.
For we are in
special circumstance so I don’t mind
this case judge by military court .
I believe they will
use best justice for no need for them
to exchange their dignity to accuse the suspects.
Sincerely Yours.
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น