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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 26 september 2018

Thai court finds 9 Muslim men guilty in Bangkok bomb plot

Associated Press been plagued by a bloody
BANGKOK (AP) — A Thai insurgency since 2004. Mus-
court on Tuesday convict- lims in the poverty-stricken
ed nine young Muslim men south feel they are treated
from southern Thailand of as second-class citizens
planning to set off a car in Thailand, which is over-
bomb in the capital, in a whelmingly Buddhist. Vir-
case in which many of the tually all the violence car-
defendants said they were ried out by Muslim sepa-
tortured into making false ratist insurgents has been
confessions. limited to Thailand's three
The Criminal Court in Bang- southernmost provinces.
kok found all nine guilty of But a series of bombings
two offenses — belonging at popular seaside towns
to an underground crimi- in August 2016 which killed
nal group and conspiracy four people and wounded
— and sentenced each to dozens raised fears among
four years' imprisonment. law enforcement agencies
One was also found guilty that attacks could spread
of illegal possession of ex- to Bangkok.
plosive devices, giving him Pornpen Khongkachonki-
a total of six years in prison. et, from the Cross Cultural
Their original sentences Foundation, a human rights
were eight years and 12 organization that sent ob- Tarmizi Tohtayong exits a prison bus after arriving at the criminal court in Bangkok, Thailand, Bang-
years, respectively, which servers to the trial, said kok, Thailand, Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2018.
were halved because of seven defendants testified Associated Press
their confessions, which in court that they were tor-
is normal practice in Thai tured while under deten-
courts. Five defendants tion in army camps either in
were acquitted. Bangkok or in the southern
The case began when at province of Pattani. There
least 50 Thai Muslims, most- have been many accusa-
ly students at Bangkok's tions of torture by the au-
Ramkhamhaeng University, thorities as part of their ef-
were rounded up in joint fort to quell the southern
police-military sweeps on insurgency.
Oct. 10, 2016. They were "The degrees of severity of
released but 13 were rear- torture claimed by these
rested the following month men varied," Pornpen said.
along with an additional "Their claims include being
suspect. punched, head-locked,
At least seven of the 14 and doused or sprayed
defendants said they had with water and locked in
been tortured or otherwise cold rooms. These allega-
physically abused in custo- tions raised concern about
dy, but the presiding judge how the confessions were
said the court considered obtained."
their allegations baseless One of those originally de-
as the men did not provide tained, Tarmizi Tohtayong,
any evidence and did not described in court how
report the cases to police. he was blindfolded and
The guilty verdict was based beaten up until he agreed
mainly on the confessions. to sign a confession before
The only other major evi- he was released. When he
dence presented against was detained again, he
them was traces of explo- denied involvement in plot-
sive material found on one ting a bombing, then was
of the men one week after doused with water and
he was first detained. All kept in a very cold room for
14 men are from Thailand's days until he agreed again
deep south, which has to confess. q