Uighurs deny Bangkok bombing, lawyer says confession forced

BANGKOK: TwoChineseUighurs yesterday denied involvement in a deadly shrine bombing in the Thai capital, and a lawyer said one had been beaten up and threatened with deportation to force an earlier confession.

Investigatorshadalsocompelled Bilal Mohammed to dress up and wearawigsoheresembledaCCTV image of the prime suspect in the blast, according to a statement issued on his behalf.

Mohammed, also known as Adem Karadag, and Yusufu Mierai l i arrived barefoot , handcuf fed and shackled at their plea hearing in a military court.

A judge read charges including premeditated murder and possession of illegal weapons to the pair through a Uighur translator.

Both said they were not guilty of the bombing charges, although Mohammed - - the suspected bomber -- admitted one charge of entering the country illegally.

“I’m not guilty... but I’ve been in prison for six months,” a disconsolate-looking Mieraili added.

The August 17 bomb killed 20 people and wounded scores more at a Bangkok shrine popular with ethnic Chinese tourists.

A convincing motive has yet to be established for an attack that dented Thailand’s key tourist industry and spread fear through a politically febrile country that is under military rule.

But speculation of a link to Thailand’s deportation of Uighur migrants to China a month before the bombing has refused to die down.

Police say the pair initially admit ted their roles in the bombing. — AFP