Hannah Witheridge and David Miller: 100,000 People Demand Independent Investigation into Thailand Murders
- By Ewan PalmerOctober 17, 2014 11:36 BST
A petition calling
for an independent investigation into the murders of British tourists
David Miller and Hannah Witheridge has attracted more than 100,000
signatures.
The pair were murdered while on holiday in Thailand on the island of Koh Tao on 15 September. A post mortem revealed Miller died from drowning and a blow to the head, while Witheridge died after suffering from head wounds.
Two Burmese men were arrested on suspicion of their murder and were believed to have admitted to killing the pair.
However, their lawyer said they have since retracted their confession following allegations Thai police beat, tortured and threatened them with electrocution until they said they had carried out the murders.
Police have denied torture was used in order to
coerce a confession from the pair and claim DNA evidence proves they are
responsible.
There have also been other areas of the murder
investigation which have been criticised, including that the crime scene
was not sealed off following the killing and a statement by police that no Thai citizen could have committed such a violent attack.
The family of accused Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun believe the migrant workers are being made "scapegoats" for the crime.
A Change.org petition calling for the British government to conduct
its own investigation into the murders has gained more than 100,000
signatures and is due to be handed to Downing Street by Burmese
activists.
Christopher Harkins, who set up the petition, said:
"The International and local community are now not able to trust that
the two Myanmar nationals, Zaw
Lin and Win Zaw Htun, have not had their confessions forced out of them
or that evidence against them has not been tampered with. As such we
cannot also trust that they are responsible.
"This being said, we demand a full independent investigation to be conducted by the government of
the United Kingdom into these deaths. This is in the hope that the
families of these victims may know justice has been served, and that the
deaths of two more possible innocents might be avoided."
Thailand's top diplomat in Britain, Nadhavathna Krishnamra, was previously summoned to the Foreign Office over concerns about the investigation.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/hannah-witheridge-david-miller-100000-people-demand-independent-investigation-into-thailand-1470511
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