Thread: Two Tourists Brutally Murdered on Koh Tao, One Raped: Police Spark Thailand Manhunt

Originally Posted by Stinky

You are white, probably pasty freckley and ginger, you got off light.

I do go a sort of golden brown. And yes freckles. And it's auburn not ginger!!

Public urged to monitor the Koh Tao murder trial by Burmese investigators

Zaw Lin and Wei Phyo, the two men who stand accused of the murders in Koh Tao last September, are innocent and should be cleared of all charges according to a team of investigators representing the Burmese Government who spoke to reporters in Rangoon on Thursday. During the press interview the team urged the public to monitor the case as it continues on the 10th and 11 of this month, on what are due to be the final hearing dates.

Burmese investigation teamThe two Burmese men are accused of the rape and murder of Hannah Witheridge, and the murder of David Miller, backpackers who travelled separately to the island last year. The gruesome murders have cast a shadow over the island and raised questions about tourist safety in Thailand and well as migrant worker issues.
The accused, who initially confessed to the crimes, later retracted their confessions saying they were tortured into admitting involvement in the crime. Htoo Chit, a migrant rights advocate who has been leading the investigation team formed by the Burmese Embassy in Thailand said the evidence presented during the case was overwhelmingly in favor of the defendants and that the Thai justice system should declare them innocent. “At first, they confessed because they were tortured and threatened in police custody, but they told us everything because they trust us,” Htoo Chit said. “I believe they are innocent and will be free soon, but we must monitor [the decision of the court] and whether they are acquitted.” He went on to explain that one of the most crucial pieces of evidence was the DNA testing administered by the Thai investigators that has come under increasing scrutiny. He says that DNA testing typically takes around 20 days where the tests in this case took only three days. Furthermore Thai forensic pathologist Dr. Pornthip Rojanasunan, who was called by the defense testified that the assumed murder weapon, a garden hoe, did not show any trace of the DNA of either defendants.

Those close to the case believe the two migrant workers are being used as scapegoats in a trial that has been riddled with ambiguity and accusations of foul play. During the proceedings the translator hired to assist with investigation was revealed to be a Rohingya Muslim who was fluent in neither Thai nor the defendants native Arakanese

Yesterday (October 2nd) marked one year in jail for the two 22 year old defendants who maintain all they did on the night of the horrific murders was play guitar on the beach close to where the crimes took place and have told members of their support group that they had no knowledge of either victim prior to the news they had been murdered the following day, had no motive for hurting anybody on an island they rely on to earn money to provide for their families and pray for justice for the families of the victims. The two, who face the death penalty if found guilty of the crimes, have remained calm during the trial during which they have received support from their mothers, both widows, who have travelled to the island to support their sons. Neither of the accused have a history of any criminal activity.


Public urged to monitor the Koh Tao murder trial by Burmese investigators - Samui Times

I believe the father of one of the Burmese died during the last year.

This is all over the news again today in the UK. Mainly about the accused being tortured into giving their confessions.

Funny that, it has been know for months that they were tortured.

And meanwhile, the real murderers are running around free. Probably to do it again. It is sickening.

Originally Posted by Bower

This is all over the news again today in the UK. Mainly about the accused being tortured into giving their confessions.

Good.
This chicanery cannot be publicized enough.

Send in Special Forces, Buffalo Team 8...

I was hit, threatened: Koh Tao accused

ONE of two Myanmar men accused of murdering two British tourists told a court yesterday he admitted to crimes he did not commit after being physically assaulted and threatened with being killed.

At yesterday's hearing in Koh Samui Court, Zaw Lin, the first defendant, answered questions from a defence lawyer. During the defence's three-hour hearing he said he was assaulted by police.

He told the court that after his arrest, a police interpreter told him to admit to the crime or he would be killed. He was told that if he confessed, he would be imprisoned for "only four to five years".

Due to fear, he agreed to confess, the co-defendant told the court.

He said that before re-enactment of the crime at the scene of the murders, an interpreter suggested what should be done.

Zaw Lin testified that in November last year he signed his name to a written confession because he was still afraid of getting killed. He claimed that he did not understand the words in the document.

Later, he passed a hand-written note to a trusted lawyer, who regularly visited him at Koh Samui Prison.

He wrote: "I didn't kill. I knew nothing about the murders", and signed his name.

The lawyer later submitted Zaw Lin's petition seeking fair treatment and claim that he was not the real culprit.

The man told the court that he was hit by an interpreter after answering his question about a dispute in Rakhine State between Buddhists and Muslims. Zaw Lin said he told the interpreter he knew nothing much because he had lived at Koh Tao for some time already.

The other defendant in the murder case trial is Wai Phyo, who also testified later yesterday. Both defendants are 22.

In September last year, British backpackers David Miller and Hannah Witheridge were murdered on the tourist island of Koh Tao. Witheridge was also raped. The two Myanmar workers were later arrested for the murders.

Officials from the National Human Rights Commission and the Myanmar Embassy were also present during yesterday's hearing.

I was hit, threatened: Koh Tao accused - The Nation

Nice to see some coverage of this trial in a Thai periodical. I wonder how many Thai language newspapers make any mention of it however.

The killers are still walking around free, but absolutely no interest from Thai authorities to find the real perps. Disgusting Thailand.

Almost at the finish line of round 1.

Christopher Harkins
honolulu, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands
11 Oct 2015 — Hello everyone. So the trial is now at, or close to an official close and the judges will now take some time to contemplate and rule on a verdict. If they were paying any attention, then they will release a statement full of outrage and immense criticism of the prosecution that have no doubt been paid off to even take on this charade of a case. Of course, if the judges were paying even the slightest bit of attention at all to the testimony and non-existent evidence that was not even presented nor given to them by the prosecution, then we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief with the assurance that while our fight to find and punish the real murderers of poor David and Hannah will be just beginning, at least Win and Zaw will not be sentenced to death for a crime that is now clear to the entire world they had nothing to do with.

But of course this is Thailand, where drugged up BMW driving rich grandsons of oligarchs are free to run over and drag the dead flailing corpses of even the mafia connected Thai police officers home under their bumpers with absolute impunity. This example is just one of many that signals that despite a perfect defense and absolutely ZERO evidence implicating any guilt whatsoever of the falsely accused, the decision of their lives and deaths are in the hands of people that simply take their orders from their other corrupt higher up overlords.

As such, there are no guarantees that the judges will rule fairly, reasonably, or even sanely.

It is my belief that like the current corrupt hierarchy of the mafia state that is the police force, corrupt almost laughable, if it did not harm so many people, justice system and military ruled government, this judge will simply follow orders on how to rule. So that makes it OUR job to pressure the decision makers to order the judges to rule fairly.

It is important to note here, and please realize this has been explained to me by people whom devote their entire lives to activism, that just because you do not get a direct response from your protests or letters to government, it does not mean they do not hear you calling out their B.S.

These are evil and selfish people we are dealing with and the key word here should be selfish. Meaning if they feel their personal reputations are in danger they will throw their little corrupt underlings/minions under the bus to protect themselves. This is how we win! This is how we can receive at least some form of justice for the brutal deaths of poor David and Hannah.

If you are a citizen of the UK PLEASE PLEASE for the love of god PLEASE! Write to your members of parliament. Demand action and pressure be put on the Thai government itself to reopen the investigation. They really do hear you and I have personally seen reply mails from MP’s acknowledging such letters.

I have never lied in any of our updates and I won’t start now. They DO hear you if you write to them. So please write.

It is clear from our past campaigns that they are hearing us. We have achieved great victories in the sense of getting this previously little know story out on the international stage of media. Let’s finish our job and put our full effort into it. I promise you if you take the 5-10 minutes to write or email to your MP, it will not be in vain.
Without your initial efforts and combined demands for justice and international intervention, Win and Zaw would have been hastily rushed through an even more ridiculous sham of a trial and executed immediately. This would have been met with immense praise by the insanely and criminally rich Koh Tao mafia families and police forces celebrating both an extremely high pay day for an extremely horrible cover up.

BUT, this did not happen. Because of YOU, Win and Zaw are still alive and there is at least some hope of having the real killers brought to justice.

If you are in Thailand write to anyone that you think will hear you. The Prime Minister’s office, the DSI, your own members of the junta appointed parliament, and even Prayuth himself. This is a great opportunity for him to back up his promises of cleaning up corruption in Thailand. Ask if he still believes that the investigation was perfect. Ask him if he is at the very least mandating all of his police forces to TIVO episodes of CSI Miami and Monk.
If you are from Myanmar, write to your government to demand they take more action in pressuring the Thai government to arrest those truly responsible.

If you are an American or from any other country on the planet, write to your state departments and have them pressure or at least warn potential visitors from visiting this island of death formally known as Koh Tao. While many are against a boycott of this island, my logic is that you should not spend money in a place that will murder you with impunity and then use your own money to bribe the police to murder other innocent migrant workers for crimes they did not commit.

I could write a long and lengthy list on the step by step ridiculousness of the prosecution’s “case” against the boys, but to be honest at this point it’s just a waste of time. If any of you have even slightly been following the case, then you are surely aware that there really is no case. If you do not get it by now, you never will.

It is also important to note that it is stupid to even need to provide evidence in the first place that Win and Zaw are NOT guilty. Why not instead prove that some of the main suspects mentioned before such as Nomsod and pals are not guilty. Remember that big ol PR stunt with the dressed up police captain threatening to imprison anyone that dares to suggest that Nomsod was guilty and doing a public DNA swab to prove his innocence that was reported to be a negative match breaking world record times for a return on DNA forensics testing? Yea well it simply DID NOT HAPPEN! Even though he was in front of the world on camera, the freaking test was not done or received by the testing officials.

This has been publicly reported and is not speculation. I am not saying he is guilty as I honestly do not know, but he is sure as hell a lot more of a suspect than these two Burmese migrant workers whom HAVE NO FREAKING DNA ON THE MURDER WEAPON.
I hate to say this but I actually agree with General Prayuth. Maybe these corrupt animals should have watched the hit T.V show Blue Bloods. Then they would learn that testing the FREAKING MURDER WEAPON for DNA evidence might lead to a clue or two.

Let’s just stop all this B.S now. The boys are NOT guilty. The police ARE. They know exactly who did this and are obstructing justice at the highest possible levels. Andy Hall is an example of how social media outrage can pressure Thai judges to rule fairly. His petition and supporters have been consistently vocal about the ridiculousness of the slander charges against him and now he has been cleared of such charges. We need to copy this model. Make your voice heard and continue to make a difference.

This can only be done by social media outrage posts demanding the boys be freed now and the real killers brought to justice, as well as demanding that the case be reopened and perhaps the DSI involved. I personally would love to pressure General Prayuth himself and the heads of the police force to acknowledge that not only was the investigation not carried out “perfectly” but it was not even carried out at all. In Thailand, cover up and investigation are often synonymous and the people of Thailand and its guests deserve first and foremost protection and when that fails we demand that the families of the victims

Thailand not only failed to protect but murdered in the first place receive justice!

This week, I have been informed, by people working with the defense team that know far more than me about both the case and effective strategies to win justice, that as of now the best course of action we can take is to pressure the UK government themselves to get more involved. PLEASE if you are a UK citizen write to your members of parliament demanding more action.

Remind them that we never received an official reply to our petition of over 105,000 people that was hand delivered to the Prime Minister’s office. Tell them that even a famous Thai forensics expert has verified beyond any reasonable doubt that the boys DNA WAS NOT! On the murder weapons but that other DNA was.

We want to know WHOSE DNA it was, although most already have a strong hint *cough cough Nomsod! Tell them that the UK “investigators” they sent to Koh Tao did not investigate a god damn thing and simply regurgitated the lies spouted out by one of the most notoriously corrupt police forces on the planet, thereby giving the Thai police’s accounting of the events some legitimacy in the eyes of countless people that simply are not aware of how corrupt the Thai system of justice is.

This is comparable to a UN official going to North Korea, not being given access to anything or anywhere, then reporting back that “well from what I seen everything seems to conform to international standards of human rights”

I am really truly sorry to bother you all with these updates but there is one single fact that none of us can avoid. Together our voices are heard. Individually they are ignored. PLEASE! Share our demands for justice. It is not an exaggeration to state that without every single one of you signing sharing and voicing your opinions about this petition and case the boys would have long ago been executed and the rapists and murderers of Koh Tao would be freely able to rape, murder and torture, while posting jack ass pictures of themselves on Facebook making fun of the horrific murders at the AC bar mocking all of us that are seeking real justice. NO MORE! Lets put these animals in prison. Only you can do it and only we can achieve it.

Sorry for the long post. We are almost at the end of the trial, then the real lobbying and fighting for justice begins. Let’s keep fighting until those horrific corrupt criminally rich and murderous animals are behind bars for good.

Remember please that together we have a voice, alone we do not. Please do not fall into the typical corrupt Thai mafia state strategy of just waiting long periods of time for everyone to simply not care. Let’s remember David, Hannah, Win and Zaw until all receive justice! It is all of them and the prevention of future victims we fight for.

Thank you,
Chris

Also, here are two articles that are worth reading. One is related to our case and how the FCO, and the UK government have essentially betrayed their own citizens and all of us demanding their involvement.

THE ?CHILLING EFFECT? ? KOH TAO SUSPECTS SACRIFICED FOR BRITISH GOVERNMENT INTERESTS? - Andrew Drummond

The other link is about another case from Jack Bartell who is actually being charged with assault after being beaten to near death by rich connected people at a bar in Koh Samui. He was severely beaten and stomped on even whilst unconscious. I believe it is the same prosecutor as the Koh Tao case that is trying to send HIM to jail after uncountable numbers of surgeries.
Basically It’s all the same problem and if we want change we got to fight them all.

The schoolies night in Thailand that turned into a nightmare for young Australian - 30/09/2015

Any questions comments or suggestions please hit me up at [email protected]

Christmas Eve is the verdict date.

?I was sexually abused by Thai police? - Witheridge accused tells court - Crime - Eastern Daily Press

Originally Posted by thailazer

Christmas Eve is the verdict date.

?I was sexually abused by Thai police? - Witheridge accused tells court - Crime - Eastern Daily Press

Wei Phyo, a 22 year-old migrant worker from Myanmar, has told a panel of three judges investigating the deaths of Ms Witheridge and fellow British tourist David Miller from Jersey, that police stripped him naked in a freezing room and flicked his genitalia hard to make him confess. He explained he was handcuffed at the time and tried to protect himself from the abuse but could not.

Wei Phyo said he was also kicked, punched and slapped repeatedly and threatened with dismemberment, electrocution, and a burial at sea before he finally confessed.

“Police told me that as I had no passport I had no rights, and they told me it had happened before, where Burmese migrant workers were burned in a circle of blazing tyres on Koh Tao island,” Wei Phyo said in court.

The diminutive Burmese defendant said he was finally convinced to say he committed the crimes by a senior police officer who was wearing civilian clothes: “The man said I was young, and I could just say I did it and just go to prison for several years. If I didn’t I would certainly be killed. The interpreter told me he was in a position to help me, so I decided I should confess. After that, I signed many documents but I didn’t know what they said.“

Wei Phyo said he was then instructed by police officers and the translator in how he should say he killed Ms Witheridge and Mr Miller.

Under Thai law there is no requirement for a trial if a suspect confesses to a crime. But Wei Phyo and his co-accused Zaw Lin retracted their confessions when they were given access to lawyers in the following weeks. They had no legal representation during police interrogations.

The court also asked Wei Phyo about a mobile telephone found close to his lodgings. Wei Phyo admitted he had found the telephone on the same beach where Mr Miller was killed and took it home but couldn’t unlock it.

“The next day we heard about the murders and we were worried it might be related to someone involved in the murders. My friend smashed up the phone and threw it into the undergrowth behind our hut,” Wei Phyo told the court.

There had been confusion as to whether this telephone had been positively identified as belonging to Mr Miller. A prosecution witness said it had been confirmed by the British authorities but a defence witness rebutted this. But in the final hours of testimony the prosecution finally received official confirmation from the UK phone company that it was indeed his, via the Thai embassy in London, at the instigation of the Miller family who had sourced the number themselves.

A team of pro bono defence lawyers who have been working on this case for months, insist their clients are innocent and the victims of human rights abuses.

The prosecution has presented evidence to the court to prove that DNA from both men were found on Ms Witheridge’s body.

However the defence has summoned numerous witnesses, including the head of Thailand’s Central Institute of Forensic Science (CIFS), who have questioned the validity of that evidence and the DNA testing process, which was carried out by Thai police forensic experts.

After Thai police claimed there was no DNA evidence on the wooden handle of the alleged murder weapon, a garden hoe, CIFS retested it and found the victims’ DNA and another incomplete male DNA profile which could not be proven to come from either defendant.

Wei Phyo is the final witness in this legal process which is expected to return a verdict on Thursday December 24.

Christmas eve verdict, nice.

Hoping in their infinite wisdom that it'll all be swept under the carpet and forgotten because of the two week Christian holiday.

Originally Posted by Chittychangchang

After Thai police claimed there was no DNA evidence on the wooden handle of the alleged murder weapon, a garden hoe, CIFS retested it and found the victims’ DNA and another incomplete male DNA profile which could not be proven to come from either defendant.

Yes, but did they test to see if it came from one of these guys ?

Originally Posted by Chittychangchang

Christmas eve verdict, nice.

Guilty as charged.


Next.

What a shit Xmas that'll be for their loved ones

Good article from a year ago. Things are still the same . . .

Not saving Thailand?s face: the backlash of police corruption in tourist murders | Asian Correspondent

^
Same same but different.

Taken from SCOTLAND YARD UNWITTINGLY ?LIED? OVER THAI ISLAND MURDERS - Andrew Drummond
The Defence Submission:


A team of pro-bono lawyers working under the Lawyers Council of Thailand (LCT) to defend two Myanmar migrant workers accused of the rape and murder of a female British tourist and the murder of a British male tourist on Koh Tao Island, Thailand in September 2014 today submitted a 56 page closing statement as an opinion for Koh Samui Court to consider in issuing a judgement in the case.
The written statement is the final part of a one year effort by a core team of 7 Thai lawyers supported by Burmese, Australian and British translators, assistants and advisors to ensure a fair trial and adequate defense for the accused. Case witness testimony that ended on 11th October 2015 after 21 days of witness hearings involving 34 witnesses and thousands of pages of evidence has already been widely publicised by the media. Koh Samui Court has appointed both parties to the case on 24th December 2015 to hear a verdict.
Hannah Witheridge (23) and David Miller (24) were murdered on 15th September 2014 on Koh Tao, a tourist island in the Gulf of Thailand. The murder investigation was widely criticised both domestically and internationally due to alleged mishandling of forensic evidence and alleged torture both of the two accused and migrant workers living on Koh Tao Island. The challenges faced to Thailand's law enforcement and justice systems in this case also cast a serious shadow over the safety of tourism in Thailand.
On 2nd October 2014, Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo (Win Zaw Htun), 22 year old migrant workers from Rakhine state in Myanmar, were arrested for immigration offences. Additional charges were then laid against them during questioning for rape, murder and theft related to the killings of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller. The two accused signed confessions during interrogation and also publicly and during questioning re-enacted the crimes.
On 14th October, at a first advance witness hearing in the case, both accused then retracted their confessions to LCT lawyers. Later on defense lawyers received information that the two accused alleged beatings and torture were used during their detention, prior to sending on for questioning by investigation officials, to elicit their confessions made involuntarily. The Migrant Worker Rights Network (MWRN) and rights groups called on the LCT to provide trained lawyers for the accused to ensure they could adequately defend themselves against all the charges so as to ensure a fair trial and also importantly to guard against a potential miscarriage of. justice in such a highly publicised and tragic case.
A two month delay in prosecuting the accused resulted from extensive media and diplomatic attention towards the case in addition to calls for justice by the accused, their families and the wider public. This resulted in further questioning of the accused that confirmed that both maintained their complete innocence and insisted their confessions came about involuntary as a result of torture. Multiple criminal charges were then filed against Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo on 4th December 2014 by the Koh Samui prosecutor at Koh Samui Court.
The judges heeded calls for adequate time to prepare a thorough defense for the accused and, after a number of preliminary evidence exchange hearings, a 21-day trial eventually commenced on 8th July 2015.
The closing statement submitted today to Koh Samui Court outlines in detail yet summarises succinctly key planks of the defense team's arguments, presented during testimony of its 13 witnesses in court, so as to outline to what extent the defense witnesses should be seen as credible. The closing statement also considers the testimony of the prosecution witnesses so as to compare the reliability of this witness testimony alongside that of the defense witnesses also for the court. The statement highlights as follows:
(1) The case questioning and charging of the accused prior to prosecution was unlawful. The accused questioning after arrest and the process of notifying them of the charges against them were incorrect. The accused were questioned as 'witnesses' but it turned out as a confession that stated they confessed to murder and rape. The accused were questioned without lawyers or trusted persons present. The accused were not read their rights as criminal suspects or explained the nature of offences they were charged with. Neither were the accused provided adequate translation and legal representation as required by law and as was reasonable in the circumstances. The accused's DNA samples were taken from them involuntarily and are hence inadmissible as evidence in court.
(2) The accused's original confessions cited by the prosecution in court came about involuntarily from torture or abuse that made them fear for their lives and safety in the context of a wider case investigation when migrants reported systematic abuse on Koh Tao Island. These written confessions, even if they had been signed, should not be considered by the Court. Other documents that were also written for the accused and which they involuntarily signed not even understanding what they were signing likewise should not be considered by the court. The videoed or staged re-enactments undertaken by the accused and submitted by the prosecution to the Court were likewise involuntary, staged under threat of violence and should not be considered or should be inadmissible as evidence in court.
(3) There is no link between the alleged murder weapon (a hoe) and the accused. DNA samples from the hoe do not match the accused DNA profiles but instead match the DNA profiles of other individuals.
(4) The DNA evidence allegedly matching the accused as well as all surrounding or circumstantial evidence in this case apparently showing the guilt of the accused is unreliable and should be inadmissible and not considered by the Court. All of this evidence was not collected, tested or analysed in accordance with internationally accepted standards such as ISO 17025. This evidence should not be considered as satisfying beyond reasonable doubt that the accused violently raped and murdered the female deceased or murdered the male deceased. This includes all evidence linking the accused to the alleged crime scene such as cigarette butts, theft of the male deceased's mobile phone and sunglasses as well as a 'running man' caught on CCTV.
(5) The prosecution case is marked by an absence of significant evidence needed to prove the guilt of the accused for crimes they are charged with. This absent evidence includes photographs of the crime scene, autopsy and DNA analysis processes, chain of custody documents for forensic evidence, certain forensic evidence documents as well as detailed DNA analysis laboratory case notes.
In addition, the clothes and the body surface of the female deceased expected to contain significant traces of DNA of the perpetrators were either not tested at all or tested but not included in the prosecution file or case evidence list. CCTV footage provided by the prosecution seemed to be incomplete and no fingerprint or footprint evidence was presented as part of the prosecution case.
---------------------------
In the High Court Mr.Justice Green dismissed a claim by defence lawyers to have a full copy of the Scotland Yard report. But it did trouble him.

In coming to this end result I nonetheless feel very considerable unease. I sit at a long distance from the seat of the trial and I do not have a true “hands on” feel for the way the evidence has been tendered in the trial to date or how the accused might structure their defences. I have not been assisted by the lack of evidence about the Thai proceedings or as to the evidence that has in fact been tendered by the prosecution or as to the main lines of the defence. I have had to work these out for myself doing, as the parties put it, “the best I could”. This has not been a comfortable process.

Koh Tao Murders: Defense Asks Court to Drop Charges

SURAT THANI — Lawyers representing two Myanmar migrant workers accused of killing two British tourists on Koh Tao murder called on the court today to drop all charges against the accused.

In a written closing statement submitted to the Koh Samui Court today, the volunteer legal team stressed the court should dismiss the charges against Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo due to the weakness of the evidence against them and procedural abuses at the time of their arrest.

“The prosecution’s case is marked by an absence of significant evidence needed to prove the guilt of the accused for the crimes they are charged with,” read the statement filed with the court today.

The two men have been accused of murder, rape and theft. They face the death penalty if convicted.

The legal team, provided by the Lawyers Council of Thailand, said the two men standing trial for the September 2014 murders were arrested illegally as they were denied legal representation and qualified translators. The statement also repeated key testimony to emerge during the trial including claims the suspects were tortured into confessing, a top forensic examiner concluding DNA collected from the alleged murder weapon did not match the accused.

Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, were found murdered Sept. 15, 2014, on Koh Tao, a resort island in the south of Thailand. Investigators later determined Witheridge was raped.

The investigation got off to an unimpressive start and was widely criticized as unprofessional.

Police subsequently arrested the two men who worked at a restaurant near to the crime scene. The prosecution’s case was largely based on forensic evidence collected from the scene and security camera footage.

Police quickly announced the two men, both 21 at the time, had confessed. On Oct. 14 the men retracted their confessions, and they were soon extended legal representation by the defense team. Myanmar officials and human rights group expressed concern the two migrants might have been used as scapegoats.

The trial ended one year later on Oct. 11. Thirty-four witnesses were called during its 21 days. The Koh Samui Court has summoned all involved parties to hear the verdict Dec. 24.

The statements went into depth on what it described were deficiencies in the handling and analysis of the DNA evidence.

It said results furnished by police showing a match with the accused should now be accepted, as the material was not collected following international standards, and many significant items were absent from the prosecution’s case, including details on how the autopsy and forensic examinations were conducted. Certain items which might have contained trace samples were never tested, it said.

In the final testimony delivered Oct. 10 and Oct. 11, the accused told the court they were both mentally and physically abused by police. Before they were led through a much-publicized “re-enactment” of the crime, the men said they were instructed on how to act and told to confess as they had no rights as illegal immigrants.

Police officials have repeatedly denied all allegations of abuse or scapegoating, saying their evidence and test results established the pair’s guilt.

Koh Tao Murders: Defense Asks Court to Drop Charges

Originally Posted by misskit

drop all charges against the accused.

Never happen,the police can't lose face over this.
Bad luck for the two boy's.

Should they be found guilty then there will certainly be an appeal.

If this happens will the autopsy report and scotland yard report from the UK be available to the defense ?

Good way out for the Thai justice sustem, Drop the charges, insufficient and unreliable evidence, not looking for new suspects. Would the worlds press now please go back to reporting the beauty of Thailands tourist spots.............