Court blocks Erawan suspect’s release
Grants order to hold woman 12 more days
The military court yesterday granted a police request to further detain a Thai-Muslim woman nabbed at Suvarnabhumi airport for alleged involvement in the Erawan shrine bombing.
Wanna Suansan, 29, was arrested on Wednesday after returning from Turkey and charged in connection with the Aug 17, 2015 shrine bombing that killed 20 people and wounded 130 others.
Ms Wanna is accused of providing shelter for two suspects, Yusufu Mieraili and Adem Karadag, also known a Bilal Mohammed, who are being detained at the 11th Army Circle while awaiting trial for conspiracy to murder and attempted murder.
The court approved Ms Wanna’s further detention for 12 days from yesterday to Dec 4 because it deemed her a flight risk. She is being held at the Central Women’s Correctional Institution.
It was reported that the family and the l awyer would seek bail for her release today.
Ms Wanna had been detained by Turkish authorities along with her husband since 2015 before being allowed to return to Thailand without her husband. She arrived with her two young sons, aged one and three years old.
Ibrahim Komkam, a village headman in Phangnga, where the suspect comes from, said yesterday he was asked by Ms Wanna’s family to testify as a witness.
On Wednesday Mr Ibrahim, who was present during her arrest, said the last time he saw Ms Wanna and her husband was when the couple travelled from Bangkok to Phangnga in May 2015. She had prepared documents necessary to travel to Turkey and the couple left Thailand on May 17, 2015 via Phuket International Airport.
Meanwhile, authorities said yesterday that three more of the 20 Uighur migrants who escaped early this week from an immigration detention centre in Songkhla’s Sadao district were recaptured.
One was arrested across the border by Malaysian authorities in Kedah state and was to be handed back to Thai authorities.
The other two were detained by Thai officials following a tip-off that two strangers were hiding in the jungle near a border village.
According to police, they were detained when they approached villagers for food and handed over to Sadao police.
Sadao district chief Boonpas Raknui said local authorities and residents were still seeking other escapees.
“If they escaped without outside help, they will likely still be in the area. We will continue with the search and the rest should be recaptured and handed over to police,” he said.
Twenty Uighur migrants slipped out of the facility through two holes they made in the wall of their cell while five others were unable to get away in time before police noticed the escape was in progress.
They were arrested in 2015 and detained at the Songkhla immigration centre pending prosecution for illegal entry, after their claimed nationality could not be confirmed.
The Immigration Bureau says 61 Uighurs are being detained at detention centres in Ranong, Mukdahan, Nong Khai, Songkhla, Ubon Ratchathani and Bangkok. They are awaiting nationality verification before being deported back to their country of origin.