UK police to work on Thai murder inquiry

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/oct/17/uk-police-thai-murder-inquiry

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A team of British police are to fly to Thailand to work with their counterparts in the investigation into the murders of two British backpackers as concerns mount over the suspects’ alleged mistreatment.

On the sidelines of a summit in Milan on Friday David Cameron obtained an agreement from the Thai prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, that British investigators be sent to Koh Tao, a Downing Street source said.

The move was an attempt to reassure the families of David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, that the judicial process was being carried out in a fair and transparent way and that the murderers would be brought to justice, the source added.

The two tourists were found dead on the holiday island of Koh Tao on 15 September. Postmortem examinations showed Witheridge, from Norfolk, had died of head injuries, while Miller, from Jersey, had also suffered severe blows to the head and had drowned in the surf. Two Burmese men, Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, both migrant workers aged 21, have been arrested and charged with their murders. But their families have claimed they are scapegoats and have alleged the suspects were beaten by investigators keen to extract confessions – claims denied by the Thai police.

Details of the British police to be sent to Thailand are yet to be ironed out and there was no immediate word on how many investigators would be sent or when. The source said Britain would work to ensure further independent verification of the DNA samples that Thai police claim link the two men to the murders. The other area of concern is the Burmese suspects’ allegations of mistreatment.

The duo have claimed they were beaten by police and threatened with electrocution unless they confessed. There have been conflicting reports about whether or not those confessions have since been retracted.

Thai police have said they believe the pair stumbled on the Britons on a beach and allegedly gave Miller a blow to the head before raping and killing Witheridge. They are adamant the DNA link is “concrete” and that the men’s claims of torture do not stand up to scrutiny.

Human rights groups in Thailand and internationally have expressed concerns about the investigation, raising the possibility that their quick arrests might be a tool for the tourist-dependent country to avoid the negative publicity of a drawn-out murder investigation.

Prayuth – who has also come under pressure in Burma to ensure the suspects are treated fairly – has defended the Thai police. “We must build foreign confidence and make Britain and other foreign nations understand,” he said after a visit to Burma last week.

“They might be a little surprised why the criminals were caught so quickly. I myself was excited. I want all Thais to stop and think that authorities have procedures in place. Nobody would dare catch the wrong person because this is a case of big international interest.”

Burmese president Thein Sein had urged Bangkok not to treat the two men as scapegoats. “If they are guilty, action should be taken according to the law,” he was quoted as saying by Agence France Presse. “However, the investigation needs to be clean and fair.”