Thailand | Court indicts 2 for deadly Bangkok bombing

Police officers escort suspects in the Aug. 17 blast at the Erawan Shrine, Bilal Mohammad, front, and Mieraili Yusufu, rear, as they arrive at a military court in Bangkok

A Thai military court yesterday indicted two foreigners accused of carrying out a deadly bombing at a shrine in Bangkok but questions hang over the case because of the attackers’ unclear motive and an opaque investigation.
Both men have been described by officials as ethnic Uighurs 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.
The Aug. 17 blast at the Erawan Shrine — a popular tourist destination — was one of the most deadly acts of violence in Bangkok in decades, and left 20 people dead and more than 120 injured. Of the dead, 14 were tourists.
The attack shocked the residents of the capital because of the apparent randomness, which drove home the point that no place is immune to acts of terror. Authorities, however, have declined to call it an act of terrorism out of apparent fear that it would hurt the country’s huge tourism industry.
Police initially appeared at first to be at a loss, but soon claimed success with a series of raids and two arrests. Arrest warrants have been issued for 15 others.
The two suspects were brought to the court in handcuffs wearing brown prison garb. Members of the media were not allowed to enter the court and the indictments took place before the two suspects arrived, said defense lawyer Chuchart Kanpai.
The two, identified as Bilal Mohammad and Mieraili Yusufu, were indicted on 10 counts — none of them terrorism charges. They include conspiracy to explode bombs and commit premeditated murder, Chuchart said.
Early speculation about the bombing had suggested it might be the work of Uighur separatists who were angry that Thailand in July forcibly repatriated more than 100 Uighurs to China, where it is feared they face persecution. The theory was bolstered by the fact that the Erawan Shrine is popular among Chinese tourists, who figured prominently among the victims of the bombing.
But Thai officials reject any political or religious motive, sticking to the theory that it was a revenge for disrupting a human-smuggling gang. Still, skepticism 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. No details of their interrogation have been revealed. Even their nationalities remain unclear.
They are being tried at a military court on an army base in Bangkok because cases of “national security” have been handled by the military since last May, when the army seized power in a coup from an elected government.
Former National Police Chief Somyot Poomphanmuang said before his retirement in September that the case against the two suspects was supported by closed-circuit television footage, witnesses, DNA matching and physical evidence, in addition to their confessions. Nattasuda Anusonadisai, Bangkok, AP