THAI COURT SENTENCES TWO UYGHUR MEN TO DEATH FOR 2015 BANGKOK BOMBING

A Thai court has sentenced two Uyghur men, Adem Karadag and Yusufu Mieraili, to death for a bombing at Bangkok's Erawan Shrine in August 2015. The attack killed 20 people and injured a further 120 at the popular tourist site in the centre of Bangkok. Five of the dead were from mainland China and two from Hong Kong. The court ruled that the defendants had committed multiple separate offences, with the charge of premeditated murder carrying the death penalty.

Both men have maintained their innocence throughout proceedings and will appeal against the sentence, according to their lawyer Chamroen Panompakakorn. A second lawyer, Choochat Kanpai, said the court had failed to consider multiple factors in their defence and would seek an extension to file an appeal. Under Thai law, appeals must be lodged within one month of the verdict. The case took more than a decade to reach trial, with prosecutors gathering evidence from hundreds of witnesses and facing difficulties in securing an appropriate interpreter for the suspects.

No group claimed responsibility for the 2015 attack, though security experts have linked it to the forced deportation of more than 100 Uyghurs from Thailand the previous month. China's foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated on Thursday that China supported the Thai court's verdict. Thailand deported a further 40 Uyghurs to China last year, despite calls from United Nations human rights experts who warned those individuals faced risks of torture and ill-treatment upon return. China has faced international criticism over restrictions on religious and cultural freedoms in Xinjiang, where the majority of Uyghurs live.