ASEAN Beat | Security | Southeast Asia

Thai Court Sentences 2 Men to Death For Involvement in 2015 Erawan Shrine Bombing

The attack on the popular tourist attraction in central Bangkok killed 20 people and injured around 120 more.

The Erawan Shrine in Bangkok’s Ratchaprasong district, as seen during a political protest on Oct. 15, 2020.

A Thai court yesterday sentenced two ethnic Uyghur men to death for their role in a ​ bombing in central Bangkok that killed 20 people more than a decade ago.

The sentence was handed down after Yusufu Mieraili and Bilal Mohammed (aka Adem Karadag), both Chinese nationals, were found guilty of premeditated and attempted murder for their role in the August 2015 bombing of the Erawan Shrine in the busy Ratchaprasong district.

“The defendants committed a single act that violated multiple laws. The court therefore imposed the harshest penalty available under the law, the death sentence,” one member of the four-judge panel said, as the lengthy verdict was read out, as per the AFP news agency.

The two men have previously denied all of the charges against them, and following the verdict, Mieraili was heard to remark, “RIP Thailand’s justice system. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

After the hearing, Chamroen Panompakakorn, one of the two lawyers defending the pair, said that they would appeal ​against the death sentence. “Don’t be frightened, there are three other courts,” he told reporters. Choochat Kanpai, the other lawyer, said that there were “many aspects of the case that the court has not fully considered, including the treatment of the defendants during the proceedings.”

The bombing of the Erawan Shrine, which is dedicated to the Hindu god Brahma, is popular among foreign tourists, particularly from China. The bombing was one of the worst attacks of its kind on Thai soil. In addition to the 20 people killed, another 120 were injured by the explosives, which authorities believe were left in a backpack. Among those killed were six Thais, five Malaysians, five mainland Chinese, and two Hong Kongers.

Shortly after the bombing, police named 17 suspects, but only Mieraili and Mohammed were initially apprehended. A third suspect, a Thai woman named Wanna Suansan, who was then living in........

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