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Thailand lays backpacker murder charges against Burmese suspects Thailand lays backpacker murder charges against Burmese suspects
(about 1 hour later)
Two Burmese workers have been charged with murder over the deaths of British tourists Hannah Witheridge and David Miller in Thailand. Two Burmese men have been formally charged with the murders of British backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller in Thailand following a long and much-criticised police investigation.
Miller, 24, from Jersey, and Witheridge, 23, from Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, were found dead on a beach on the holiday island of Koh Tao in September. Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, both 21, were arrested a fortnight after Witheridge, 23, from Norfolk, and Miller, 24, from Jersey, were found dead on a beach on Koh Tao, a popular holiday island in Thailand.
Bar workers Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun were announced as suspects and paraded in front of cameras in October after apparently making confessions, but these were later withdrawn as the men claimed they were obtained under torture. Police said the suspects, who both worked in bars on the island, had confessed. However, the men soon retracted these admissions, saying they had been forced from them by torture.
Thawatchai Saengjaew, chief of the Public Prosecution’s Region 8 Office, told the Bangkok Post that authorities would indict Zaw Lin, 21, on five counts – the murder of Miller, the rape and murder of Witheridge, illegal entry into Thailand and staying in the country without permission. Rights groups, including Amnesty International, have expressed alarm at the investigation, as has the British government, which sent Metropolitan police detectives to Thailand to review the case.
Win Zaw Htun, 21, faces the same charges and an additional count of stealing a mobile phone and sunglasses from Miller. The process of formally charging the migrant workers had been much delayed, with prosecutors repeatedly sending back the police file on the case for more clarification.
More details soon … However, officials and the men’s legal team said they had been charged on Thursday by prosecutors at the court in Koh Samui, the larger island adjoining Koh Tao, where they are in prison. The case had been scheduled for Thursday afternoon, but in chaotic scenes the hearing was moved forward, meaning it was heard before Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo could be brought to the court in time.
Both men are charged with murdering Miller, who was struck on the head and left to drown in the surf, raping and murdering Witheridge, who died from severe head injuries, and with entering Thailand illegally and staying in the country without permission.
Wai Phyo is also charged with stealing Miller’s phone and sunglasses.
Andy Hall, a British rights activist who assists Burmese migrant workers in Thailand and who is working with the men’s defence team, said it appeared the prosecutor did not inform lawyers when the case was happening, meaning the suspects were not in court. They would plead at a subsequent hearing on Monday, he added.
Hall and other rights organisations have expressed concern throughout the murder investigation, given previous cases where Thai police have falsely accused Burmese workers of high-profile crimes. Even before Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo were arrested General Prayuth Chan-ocha, Thailand’s prime minister since a coup in May, said migrants were the most likely culprits.
Several Burmese among the 3,000 or so working on Koh Tao also said they had been mistreated by police investigating the murders.
As well as the confessions, police say they have DNA evidence tying the men to the scene. However, critics have noted that the section of beach was trampled by journalists and onlookers the day after the murders before it was sealed off.
Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo have repeatedly insisted on their innocence. At an earlier court hearing on Koh Samui, the pair said they had been playing guitar and drinking on the night in question, and passed the Guardian a handwritten letter requesting help from the families of Witheridge and Miller.
On Tuesday they released a new letter, asking for the Britons’ friends, or any other witnesses, to come forward.
The British detectives who went to Thailand have yet to complete their report, which will be shared in the first instance with the victims’ families.