Thai court sentences two Uyghur men to death over 2015 Bangkok bombing
A court in Thailand has sentenced two ethnic Uyghur men from China's Xinjiang region to death over the 2015 bombing at Bangkok’s Erawan Shrine that killed 20 people and injured 120 others.
The attack took place in a popular tourist area in central Bangkok, with victims including five people from mainland China and two from Hong Kong, News.Az reports, citing The Asahi Shimbun.
Court found the actions of the two defendants constituted multiple offences, including premeditated murder, resulting in death sentences for both men.
According to the ruling, the defendants will appeal the verdict within a month. Both suspects have denied the charges against them.
No group claimed responsibility for the bombing, although security experts have linked the attack to anger over Thailand’s deportation of more than 100 Uyghurs the month before the explosion.
The case took more than a decade to reach trial, with prosecutors gathering evidence from hundreds of witnesses and facing difficulties in securing appropriate interpreters for the accused.
The verdict comes amid continuing international attention on the treatment of Uyghurs from Xinjiang and follows Thailand’s deportation of another 40 Uyghurs to China last year despite concerns raised by United Nations human rights experts.
By Leyla Şirinova
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