Bangkok (AsiaNews / Agencies) - A Thai military court has indicted two people today for the bomb attack, which occurred at the Bangkok Erawan temple on August 17 last.
The attack left 20 dead and more than 100 wounded, including many tourists. The accused are Yusufu Mieraili and Bilal Mohammad. The start date of the trial has not been made public. According to the defense lawyer, the two defendants to 10 counts (including premeditated murder and conspiracy) but not for terrorism. The Bangkok authorities had immediately discarded terrorism as a motive as it did not target the tourism sector or economy.
According to police, both Mieraili are Mohammad ethnic Uyghur and the attack is in revenge for the forced extraditions of July. Mohammad, who was arrested on August 29 and at first denoted as Adem Karadag would be the boy with yellow t-shirt that cameras had filmed while abandoning a black backpack (containing the bomb) on a bench, a few minutes before the explosion. Yusufu Mieraili was arrested in early September and is accused of having delivered the bomb to Mohammad.
Police investigations have repeatedly given rise to criticism. While investigatios were still ongoing, on Sept. 1, police pocketed the reward (85 thousand dollars) for have resolved the case. On September 29, the former head of the department Gen. Poompunmuang declared the "case closed" and delivered other 82 thousand dollars as a reward to his men.
Moreover, the alleged "mastermind" of the attack, identified as Izaan, is still at large as are another 15 suspects (all Uyghurs). For these reasons, a source for AsiaNews in Bangkok called the entire investigation "a farce".