Hundreds of protesters demonstrated outside Thailand’s embassy in Yangon on Friday, after two Myanmar migrants were sentenced to death by a Thai court for murdering two British backpackers, in a verdict that has sparked anger in their homeland.
Advertisement
UN announces end of Yemen peace talks amid new fighting
Houthi and government delegates have been meeting in Biel in Switzerland to try to end months of fighting. The participants spoke anonymously since they were not authorized to brief reporters.
There is some discussion about the case, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the verdict was profoundly disturbing because defendants had said police tortured the men and those accusations were never investigated.
Iraqi PM visits Ramadi after forces retake it from ISIS
It has declared a caliphate in the areas under its control and imposed a harsh and violent interpretation of Islamic law. “The compound has been liberated”, said Suhaib al-Rawi, the governor of Anbar province, of which Ramadi is the capital.
The battered bodies of backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found on a beach on the island of Koh Tao in September past year.
Saudi Arabia’s 2016 Budget Reflects Pinch From Lower Oil Revenues
Over the past year , oil prices dropped from triple digit highs in June 2014, to now .94 as of 7.10 GMT today. That’s less than half the per barrel priced into the projected 2015 budget.
Police eventually arrested and charged Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun, also known as Wai Phyo.
The judge said “DNA evidence from both suspects” guided the decision, citing forensic traces from the accused found on Witheridge’s body.
Meanwhile, Miller’s family released a statement expressing their utmost respect for the court, saying they “believe that the result (…) represents justice for David and Hannah”.
Miss Witheridge and Mr Miller met on Koh Tao while staying at the same hotel.
Police confirmed at the time that Witheridge, 23, was found bludgeoned to after being raped, while Miller, 24, had suffered blows to his head before being drowned in the sea.
Both later said they had been coerced to confess and had retracted their statement.
Lawyer Aung Myo Thant from the special team said: “We are going to appeal within seven days”.
The human rights group Amnesty International is also calling for an independent investigation to be held into the men’s claims of mistreatment at the hands of Thai police.
Shortly after the murders, his father Ian Miller said he believed his son had stepped in to help Ms Witheridge when they were both killed.
The case has been mired in controversy amid questions about the police investigation and Thailand’s treatment of migrant workers.
A bloodstained hoe was found near the crime scene, but a government expert testified that DNA retrieved from it did not match that of the suspects, one of several contradictions in the state’s case. “They have shown no remorse during the trial”, said Mr Miller’s brother Michael.
Throughout the trial prosecutors insisted their evidence against the men was rock solid.
Michael added, however, that as the legal process went on, “we came to realize that the police investigation and the forensic work performed was not the so called shambles it was made out to be”.
They said the University of Essex, where Miss Witheridge was studying speech and language therapy, had introduced an award for “clinical excellence” in her memory.
Advertisement
A lot of them are undocumented and, according to activists, easy prey for extortion by local officials.
