Look Beyond Burmese ‘Scapegoats’ in Thai Murder Case: Rights Group Skip to main content

Look Beyond Burmese ‘Scapegoats’ in Thai Murder Case: Rights Group


Htoo Chit of the Foundation for Education and Development speaks to reporters in Rangoon on Tuesday, while the parents of the two Burmese migrants accused of murder in Thailand listen from the corner. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy)
Htoo Chit of the Foundation for Education and Development speaks to reporters in Rangoon on Tuesday, while the parents of the two Burmese migrants accused of murder in Thailand listen from the corner. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Two Burmese migrant workers should not be the primary suspects in an increasingly high-profile double murder case in Thailand, a migrant rights group says, as a pre-trial hearing got underway on Tuesday.

Htoo Chit, executive director of the Foundation for Education and Development (FED), said his group had interviewed the two suspects, three witnesses that prosecutors will use, and Thai and Burmese citizens living on the island of Koh Tao, where the murders took place. The Thailand-based NGO made a fact-finding mission from Oct. 4 to 9, during which they bore witness to injuries on some Burmese migrants who were interrogated that were indicative of torture, as has previously been alleged.

“According to our own findings from the ground, these kids [the suspects] are not the main persons involved in the murder cases. We believe they are being used unjustly as scapegoats,” Htoo Chit said at a press conference on Tuesday in Rangoon.
“We will protect them under the law.”

The parents of the two suspects, Win Zaw Htun and Zaw Lin, arrived in Rangoon this week from Arakan State, and will have the opportunity to meet their sons in Thailand at the arrangement of the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok and FED.

Britons Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were murdered on Koh Tao in Thailand’s Surat Thani province on Sept. 15. In the weeks since, Thai authorities have faced criticism for their handling of the case, and Htoo Chit is not the first to use the word “scapegoats” in reference to the two Burmese defendants.

Htoo Chit said bringing the parents to Thailand might be helpful for the case as the suspects might be more willing to reveal any important information that they have not yet divulged.
The Bangkok Post reported on Monday that three witnesses to be used by Thai prosecutors didn’t witness much, and were not likely to provide incriminating testimony.

One of the witnesses, Maung Maung, told Htoo Chit that his friends, the accused, did not commit the crime. The other two witnesses, Aung Zaw Lin and Ni Ni Aung, gave pre-trial testimony before a judge on Tuesday.

When asked how lawyers for the migrants were preparing to defend them, Htoo Chit said they would request an 800-page report that has been compiled by Thai investigators.
“After studying that report, we will find witnesses [to support the defendants].”

The parents of both suspects say their sons are not “delinquent types” and were earning wages as migrant workers to help feed their families back in Burma. The father of Win Zaw Htun said he did not believe his son was capable of committing the crime.

“It’s not possible,” Htun Htun Htike, the father of Win Zaw Htun, told the press on Tuesday. “He is just this short. The British citizens were so tall. We know just by sight that it’s not possible to kill these two people. My son is well-behaved, respects his elders.”

http://www.irrawaddy.org/burma/look-beyond-burmese-scapegoats-thai-murder-case-rights-group.html
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do...
1 comment
Read more

Ancient Rakhine City of Mrauk-U Proposed for UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Irrawaddy YANGON—Myanmar’s Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture submitted the final draft of its nomination for Mrauk-U to become a World Heritage Site to UNESCO on Monday, four months after the ministry submitted the first draft of its nomination in September 2019. If the application succeeds, Mrauk-U will be the third place in Myanmar to be inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, after the ancient cities of Bagan and Pyu. Mrauk-U is located in northern Rakhine State, around 60 km from the state capital of Sittwe. The ancient city was the seat of Arakanese kings from the 1400s until the late 1700s. At the height of their power, they controlled an area covering large parts of eastern Bengal, modern-day Rakhine State and the western part of central Myanmar. Much of the city’s remains are well-preserved and some 380 historic temples are scattered between the lush hills of northern Rakhine. Mrauk-U Heritage Trust chairwoman Daw Khin Than told The Irrawaddy on Tue...
1 comment
Read more

Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera

The Life Story of A Distinguished And Outstanding Bhikkhu The Most Venerable Saradawpharagree Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera The Buddhist missionary Saradaw Ashin U Chandramani was endowed with great gifts and led a famous and long life. He was a very well known, distinguished and outstanding Bhikkhu Mahathera. While living in the Kushinagar Monastery, a place close to where the Lord Buddha had passed away to Nirvana, the Government of India had offered, and he had accepted, the highest, most honourable and respected title "Guru Guru MahaGuru". He became the first ever President of all Buddhists in India.A World Buddhist Conference took place in Kathmandu during the reign of King Mahindra of Nepal. The Conference was very well attended by over one hundred thousand Buddhists from various parts of the world and it was opened by King Mahindra himself. As requested by the King, Saradawpharagree blessed all the participants with the power of Triple Gems...
Post a Comment
Read more