BANGKOK – A Thai court slashed the number of prosecution witnesses for the long-stalled trial of two Uyghur men incarcerated for a decade following the retaliatory bombing of a Bangkok shrine popular with Chinese visitors.
Adem Karadag and Yusufu Mieraili, both handcuffed and shackled, appeared Thursday at a Bangkok criminal court for a fresh arraignment aimed at speeding up proceedings in the politically sensitive case.
“I still have hope for freedom,” Karadag told Radio Free Asia through a courtroom interpreter. “I want to go anywhere but not to be sent back to China like others.”
Both men smiled and hugged their Thai lawyer and Uyghur interpreter.
“I exercised. I can eat well,” Mieraili said in Thai.
Both men deny they triggered the Erawan Shrine bomb in the Aug. 17, 2015 attack that was apparent retaliation for Thailand’s repatriation of dozens of Uyghur migrants to China, where they face high risk of persecution.
Twenty people died in the bombing of the Hindu shrine in downtown Bangkok and more than 120 more injured.
The trial has languished due to jurisdiction changing between civilian and military courts amid regime changes in Thailand. Lack of qualified courtroom interpreters also has caused delays.
The criminal court on Thursday cut the number of prosecution witnesses to 20 from 55 to shorten the trial. It has set 11 court dates from September to December. The pair are charged with first-degree murder and could face execution if found guilty.
Police arrested Karadag and Mieraili shortly after the bombing based on CCTV footage, but failed to find dozens of other alleged perpetrators.
The trial is expected to finish next year, said Chuchart Gunpai, a lawyer for the defendants.
