BANGKOK (AFP) – The trial of two Uighurs accused of carrying out a deadly bomb attack in Bangkok in 2015 resumed yesterday after years of delays due to coronavirus disruptions and problems securing translators.
Yusufu Mieraili and Bilal Mohammed allegedly planted a bomb in a shrine in Bangkok’s commercial heart in August 2015 that left 20 dead, mostly tourists.
The timing prompted speculation that the attack was part of a revenge plot against a country that had been a key transit hub for Uighurs. The trial for the two men has been delayed several times as the court struggled to find a suitable translator – but a hearing resumed yesterday in Bangkok.
Defence lawyer Schoochart Kanpai told reporters that officers from the police forensic department who inspected the crime scene at Erawan Shrine and an apartment where the two accused lived were due to give evidence yesterday.
