Fate of Burmese pair facing death

[reader]

The fate of the young Burmese pair convicted of murdering two British backpackers in 2014 is back in the news after a Thai court reaffirmed their death sentences. Their case drew world-wide attention when Thai and international forensic experts criticized the validity of evidence prosecutors presented.

 

From The Irrawaddy news site

 

The NLD government is concerned after a Thai appeal court’s decision to uphold a death sentence handed down to two Burmese migrants for the 2014 murder and rape of two British backpackers on Koh Tao island, and has pledged to continue its assistance to the legal defense team.

 

U Zaw Htay, the President Office’s spokesperson and acting director general of the State Counselor’s Office—both ministries head by the Daw Aung San Suu Kyi—said the government has reached out to the Burmese embassy in Thailand and members of the legal team in Bangkok in order to establish the best approach.

 

Representatives from the Burmese embassy will pay an official visit to Win Zaw Htun and Zaw Lin next Friday, March 10, about which they have already informed the Thai authorities, according to U Htoo Chit, the director of the Foundation for Education Development, an organization that assists Burmese migrant workers in Thailand.

 

Both Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun are in good health and “are hopeful about their next appeal,” said Sein Htay, the director of the Migrant Workers Rights Network (MWRN). MWRN staff and a Thai lawyer from the Lawyer’s Council of Thailand met the two men at Bangkok’s Bang Kwang central prison on Friday.

 

“Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun said they were read the verdict of the appeal court on Feb. 23 at the Nonthaburi court, without the presence of their lawyer nor the translator,” U Sein Htay told The Irrawaddy on Friday.

 

“The appeal court’s proceedings were not transparent,” added U Sein Htay, referring to the circumstances described by the defendants. Lawyers are reportedly able to meet the two Burmese men around once a month.

 

http://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/govt-promises-to-assist-migrant-workers-sentenced-to-death-in-koh-tao-murder-case.html

[reader]

From Coconuts Bangkok

 

The two Myanmar nationals on death row for the savage 2014 murders of British backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller on Koh Tao filed their last appeal today.

 

This 300-page document, handed in to the Supreme Court, states that the forensic evidence, including DNA tests, used to convict migrant workers Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, both 22, was not carried out according to international forensic standards, reported Bangkok Post.

 

Lawyer Nakhon Chompuchat, leader of the men’s defense team, was turned down by the Appeal Court in March.

The Appeal Court ruled that the evidence was collected correctly and that the men had committed the rape of Witheridge and both murders “without a doubt” on Sept. 15, 2014. The death sentence was upheld for both men.

 

Nakhon still maintains that problems ranging from custody of the DNA samples during the investigation to how the men were charged and interrogated prevailed. The lawyer also pointed out that a proper interpreter or legal representation was not provided early in the case for the two convicted young men.

 

In advance of today’s appeal, Nakhon met officials from Myanmar to coordinate information as well as meeting his clients at Bang Kwang Central Prison to get their signatures on the final documents. He said that his clients still hope for justice.

Migrant rights groups have suggested at various points that the men were being railroaded, and the government of Myanmar protested the initial guilty verdict, saying at the time that the men were being “wrongly punished.”

 

http://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/final-appeal-filed-today-two-myanmar-men-death-row-2014-koh-tao-murders/

[Londoner]

The forensic evidence was shot to pieces by a British expert a couple of years back. It is believed that the murder was committed by members of an important and powerful  Thai family that more or less "runs" the island. Burmese are the easy fall-guys on whom to pin their crimes. 

[reader]

From the Guardian (UK)

 

UK police broke law in case of British backpackers murdered in Thailand

 

National Crime Agency breached rules by passing information to Thai police that led to death sentences, high court rules

 

The National Crime Agency in the UK has been forced to admit it acted unlawfully when it gave information to Thai police that helped send two men to death row for murdering two British backpackers.

 

The NCA supplied phone record evidence and intelligence to investigators in Thailand following the murders on the island of Koh Tao.

 

Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, both Burmese nationals, were convicted of the murders in 2015 after a trial which the anti-death penalty group Reprieve said was unfair. They face execution by lethal injection, and claim to have been tortured.

 

On Tuesday, the high court in London found against the NCA – Britain’s version of the FBI – in a case brought by lawyers for Lin and Phyo.

 

The case is controversial because the government opposes the death penalty overseas. As a result there are tight restrictions on what help British law enforcement can provide to police abroad in cases where suspects may be put to death.

 

The high court order said that five times the NCA breached government rules designed to prevent UK law enforcement from inadvertently aiding human rights abuses abroad, known as overseas security and justice assistance guidance (OSJG).

 

Following the murders, the NCA passed Miller’s phone location data to Thai police, enabling prosecutors to say the suspects were in the same area as their alleged victim.

 

The NCA admitted the data-sharing was unlawful, as was the passing on of other material.

 

The court order also said the NCA ignored rules on seeking authority from its own directors or Home Office ministers, holding only an “informal conversation” with a British diplomat in Bangkok “about the generic death penalty risks”.

 

“The NCA misinterpreted the guidance … as a result of wrongly placing reliance on (a) a working understanding that the Thai authorities would make a formal request if they wanted to use information in evidence and that the question of death penalty assurances could be considered at that stage, and (b) the risk of the death penalty in fact being carried out, as distinct from the risk of it being imposed.”

 

The order continued: “Ministerial authorisation will be required for any assistance that might directly or significantly contribute to use of the death penalty where effective mitigation is not available unless the urgent criteria provided for in the guidance are met.”

 

The NCA accepted in court that it was required to consult departmental ministers.

Reprieve said the evidence and intelligence was used selectively against Lin and Phyo, and that the NCA material potentially pointed to other suspects that could have bolstered the defence case. However, this information was not given to the defence team.

 

Maya Foa, the director of Reprieve, said: “It is bad enough that the NCA secretly handed over evidence to help secure death sentences in a country known for unfair trials and torture. But they now admit they did this illegally, without any proper thought that their actions could contribute to a grave miscarriage of justice with two men now facing execution.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/aug/29/uk-police-broke-law-in-case-of-british-backpackers-murdered-in-thailand

[Londoner]

Utterly disgraceful behaviour. Our police should exercise extreme caution when dealing with military juntas, particularly in Thailand which has a long history of racism towards the  Burmese.

[reader]

From Khaosod English

Koh Tao Murder Convicts Sentenced to Die by Supreme Court

 

BANGKOK — The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the death sentence for two Burmese men convicted of murdering two British tourists on a popular island in 2014.

After a lengthy reading of its 60-page verdict, the court affirmed rulings by two lower courts that found Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo guilty of killing David Miller and Hannah Witheridge on Koh Tao in September 2014. The two men were also convicted of raping Witheridge.

The verdict was read at a court in Nonthaburi province, where Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo are incarcerated. 

Defense attorney Nakhon Chomphuchart said he will file a clemency appeal to His Majesty the King and ask him to suspend the death sentence. Under Thai laws, such appeals must be made to the monarch within 60 days of a verdict.

Today’s ruling marked the end of a legal battle that pitted police authorities against mostly online skeptics who accuse the investigators of using sketchy evidence and framing the two suspects as “scapegoats.”

In the original verdict delivered in 2015, the court convicted Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, both 26, largely on the basis of DNA traces police said were recovered from the crime scene and Witheridge’s body.

Although no other physical evidence or testimony directly linked the pair to the crime, the court noted the two men came into possession of a mobile phone that belonged to one of the victims. Miller was 24 at the time of his death; Witheridge was 23.

Under the Thai legal system, an appeal to a higher court does not constitute a new trial, but rather re-examination and re-interpretation of evidence and testimonies submitted to the lower court.

In a statement released on Wednesday night, the defense team said techniques used by police to collect DNA and other forensic evidence did not meet international standards.

“DNA & forensics evidence relied on to convict Zaw Law [sic] and Wai Phyo, and sentence them to death in Koh Tao murder case fundamentally flawed & unreliable in terms of international standards,” attorney Nakhon said in the online statement.

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2019/08/29/koh-tao-murder-convicts-sentenced-to-die-by-supreme-court/

[Londoner]

Meanwhile , members of  the "hi-so" family believed  by many to have been the killers, having escaped from the island after the murder are living in luxury elsewhere.  When it comes to the use of torture, even the medievals didn't believe that it led to the truth....and , no doubt, the Thai authorities don't either. Their concern is merely to protect the tarnished image of their country; any foreigners would fit the bill. And a "confession" was essential. 

[billyhouston]

In January 2016 a friend of mine was beaten to death by five Thai teenagers and two in their early 20s. This happened in Chiang Mai in the early hours and CCTV evidence made it impossible for the police to ignore. He was a migrant from Shan State (I live with migrants and most of my friends are, consequently, migrants.) who also happened to be an orphan. Seven Thais took on one migrant and beat him to death with lumps of wood and concrete. Unfortunately yaba tablets were found in his pockets and I have no idea whether they were his, placed on him by his assailants or by 'others'. As a consequence I was strongly advised not to attend the funeral.

"The suspects were charged with colluding in a fatal assault." He was a poor migrant, with nobody to speak up for him, and his killers were Thai. The matter appears simply to have been dropped.

[faranglaw]

1 hour ago, billyhouston said:

In January 2016 a friend of mine was beaten to death by five Thai teenagers and two in their early 20s. This happened in Chiang Mai in the early hours and CCTV evidence made it impossible for the police to ignore. He was a migrant from Shan State (I live with migrants and most of my friends are, consequently, migrants.) who also happened to be an orphan. Seven Thais took on one migrant and beat him to death with lumps of wood and concrete. Unfortunately yaba tablets were found in his pockets and I have no idea whether they were his, placed on him by his assailants or by 'others'. As a consequence I was strongly advised not to attend the funeral.

"The suspects were charged with colluding in a fatal assault." He was a poor migrant, with nobody to speak up for him, and his killers were Thai. The matter appears simply to have been dropped.

I have a similar story. I visit Thailand yearly and met a nice young Burmese man at Babylon. I got together with him three or four times. He never asked for money but it turned out he was a massage boy at a shop near the Malaysia Hotel. We had a very sweet time together.

 I went back to look for him two years later and found out he had been murdered, beaten to death and left in a room in the Malaysia. A farang  was arrested but it seemed he had injected drugs into my friend’s body to make it appear to be my friend’s fault. My friend never did drugs of any kind when I knew him. The farang was released and sent back to his country. The mamasan where he worked set up a memorial service for him, and his two siblings who lived and worked in Bangkok came. His ashes were sent back to his Mom in Yangon. No rich relatives came flying halfway around the world demanding justice for him. No report of any kind appeared in the news. He. Just. Disappeared.

My friend had a name. It was Daeng. He was 23.

I love Thailand but the way Thais treat some people, especially Burmese immigrants, as garbage, is disgusting beyond any words I can find. Obviously these two boys have been framed. 

[eurasian]

11 hours ago, faranglaw said:

I have a similar story. I visit Thailand yearly and met a nice young Burmese man at Babylon. I got together with him three or four times. He never asked for money but it turned out he was a massage boy at a shop near the Malaysia Hotel. We had a very sweet time together.

 I went back to look for him two years later and found out he had been murdered, beaten to death and left in a room in the Malaysia. A farang  was arrested but it seemed he had injected drugs into my friend’s body to make it appear to be my friend’s fault. My friend never did drugs of any kind when I knew him. The farang was released and sent back to his country. The mamasan where he worked set up a memorial service for him, and his two siblings who lived and worked in Bangkok came. His ashes were sent back to his Mom in Yangon. No rich relatives came flying halfway around the world demanding justice for him. No report of any kind appeared in the news. He. Just. Disappeared.

My friend had a name. It was Daeng. He was 23.

I love Thailand but the way Thais treat some people, especially Burmese immigrants, as garbage, is disgusting beyond any words I can find. Obviously these two boys have been framed. 

very sad story ... unfortunately bad people is everywhere ...what we should critise more is the justice system ... lack of justice encourages some people to do bad things  

[billyhouston]

https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/govt-aiding-effort-seek-pardons-2-myanmar-workers-death-row-thailand-minister.html

[reader]

From the Associated Press

Thailand commutes death sentences in killings of UK tourists

BANGKOK (AP) — Two migrant workers from Myanmar convicted in the 2014 killings of two young British tourists on a Thai holiday island have had their death sentences reduced to life imprisonment.

Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo were among many convicts in Thai prisons whose sentences were reduced under a clemency decree issued by King Maha Vajiralongkorn to mark his 68th birthday on July 28, their lawyer, Nadthasiri Bergman, confirmed. The decree, which appeared to cover thousands of prisoners, took effect Friday with its publication in the Royal Gazette.

The two denied killing 24-year-old David Miller and raping and killing 23-year-old Hannah Witheridge, whose battered bodies were found on a beach on the island of Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand, a popular diving destination.

The high-profile case caused extensive controversy because of allegations police mishandled evidence and beat the suspects into making confessions. There were suspicions they were scapegoats for a crime that police were under pressure to solve because it could adversely effect Thailand’s lucrative tourist industry.

A well-known Thai forensics expert testified that the DNA evidence that was central in the prosecution case did not link them to the scene. Human Rights Watch called the guilty verdict “profoundly disturbing.”

The Supreme Court in August last year upheld their murder convictions and sentences. It dismissed allegations of physical mistreatment and mishandling of forensic evidence, saying the forensic work was handled by respectable institutions and it found no proof of torture.

The death penalty is rarely carried out in Thailand.

[Londoner]

It's difficult to rejoice when two young men face a lifetime in prison for a crime committed, in all probability, by a hi-so  criminal, no doubt with friends in the government.

Which, by the way, is now going after the students.

The only positive is that, as in the Central Park Five case, the truth may yet  be revealed unexpectedly and justice done.

I love Thailand's people , but by God,  they are cursed by a thoroughly evil ruling elite which for years has been above the law. Even when it comes to road accidents (sic).

[billyhouston]

I certainly wouldn't regard the thugs on Koh Tao as hi-so, far from it.

[Londoner]

The fact that there have been many falang deaths (eight?)on the island over a period of years  and only two Burmese boys accused suggests that the  the authorities know more than they are prepared to divulge. It's a small island.

There were also reports of a suspicious boat journey made by members of a wealthy family in the island immediately after the murder.