Myanmar military chief weighs in on Koh Tao murder case

Buddhist monks and others congregate on the platform of Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon yesterday to advocate for the release of two Myanmar men who were recently sentenced to death in the Koh Tao murder case, in a protest against the verdict of the Thai judge.

 Thai officials say death sentences are not final, as protests loom. 

 MYANMAR'S military commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing yesterday called for a review of the Koh Tao case in which two Myanmar men were sentenced to death for the murder of two British backpackers. The verdict had angered his compatriots in the neighbouring country.

"The commander expressed his respect for Thailand's judicial process while stressing the need to avoid a situation in which the innocent rather than the convicted were wrongly punished," the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar reported.

Last Thursday, a Samui court found Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun, both 22, guilty of killing Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, |24, on Koh Tao in September 2014. Witheridge was also sexually violated.

People have demonstrated across Myanmar since the verdict claiming that the two men were scapegoats. 

 Min Aung Hlaing also expressed a belief that justice would be assured because of the mutual respect and friendly relations between the two countries, the Myanmar paper reported.

The message came with New Year's best wishes from the Myanmar top commander to Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan and Armed Forces Supreme Commander Sommai Kaotira.

It's very rare for leaders in Nay |Pyi Taw to express grave concern |over the plight of ordinary citizens abroad.

A spokesman of the Courts of Justice said the death sentences for the double homicide and gang rape were not yet final.

"It is still possible to appeal the verdict," Suebpong Sripongkul said. 

 "Even after the final ruling comes out, the defendants can seek a Royal pardon." The decision was based on evidence and the summary was now available for everyone to view in both Thai and English, he said.

Pol General Dejnarong Sutticharnbancha, National Police spokesman, said the public could have confidence in Thailand's judicial process because there were effective checks-and-balances mechanisms.

"We work based on the principles of transparency and fairness," he told a press conference held by investigators, forensic officials and doctors to boost public confidence in the police investigation and evidence-gathering process. Pol Colonel Prachum Ruangthong, superintendent of Koh Pha Ngan Police Station, said public prosecutors had asked police to improve the investigation report three times before accepting it.

"We have handled the case very carefully," he said.

He denied reports that the defendants were tortured into confessing and rumours that police had relied on the interpretation services of a |man who had conflicts with the defendants.

"Those reports are groundless. Doctors have examined the defendants' physical health and there |is no sign of torture," he said.

Despite Thai authorities' moves to ease tensions over the guilty verdict for the two Myanmar migrants, more protests against the sentences were planned.

An official at the Thai-Myanmar coordination centre in the Ranong-Kawthoung border area said Myanmar people would stage a rally tomorrow.

Thousands of people have gathered in front of the Thai embassy in Yangon and at border checkpoints since the verdict to express their disappointment and demand that Thailand review the case. 

Source: The Nation.com

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Thais urged to defer travel to Myanmar

AUTHORITIES in the areas bordering Thailand and Burma yesterday warned Thai nationals not to visit Myanmar at this time, as thousands of people held protests across the border after a Thai court’s death sentence verdict against two Myanmar migrants last week.

 Peaceful protests were held in the Tachilek and Taungoo border towns in Myanmar yesterday. And some 60 people continued with their protests for a third day outside the Thai Embassy in Yangon yesterday.

In Tachilek town, across Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district, some 2,000 people gathered at a local stadium about two kilometres from the border area. They protested against the Samui Provincial Court's ruling on Thursday handing down death penalties on Myanmar men Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun for the 2014 murders of British tourists David Miller and Hannah Witheridge.

Protest leaders submitted a letter to the Thai border authorities who accepted it on behalf of the Thai government. The letter called for a fair and just trial.

Thai authorities temporarily closed the border checkpoint for safety reasons. The protesters dispersed peacefully later yesterday. The border checkpoint was reopened shortly afterwards.

 At Taungoo town, about 400 Myanmar people protested against the court ruling. Some of the protesters were Myanmar migrant workers from the Thai side of the border.

The protest was peaceful and they dispersed at about 4pm.

Local authorities in Kanchanaburi's Sangkhla Buri district, which is across the border from the Myanmar town, urged Thai tourists in Myanmar to return home urgently and advised those about to cross the border to delay their visit.

 About 60 protesters gathered yesterday outside the Thai Embassy in Yangon, which was closed for the weekend. The demonstration was peaceful and security officials were sent to monitor the situation, according to Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee.

Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said yesterday that he did not think the protests in Myanmar would worsen and sour ties between the two countries.

He said the Thai government was aware of the protesters' demands. "But we have to let the justice process to take its course anyway. That's an international standard of practice. The Thai court system is acceptable," he said.

The two Myanmar convicts were yesterday transferred from a jail on Koh Samui to the Nakhon Si Thammarat prison. They were moved early yesterday morning to the maximum security prison, which is intended for convicts sentenced to life imprisonment or death penalty.

Meanwhile, the Thai Journalists Association yesterday issued a statement in response to an earlier statement by the Myanmar Journalists Association about the court verdict.

The TJA said it agreed with the MJA that as journalists, "our responsibility is to seek truth and justice". The statement said, "We see the utmost importance of seeking truth and justice, especially in such a controversial case like the tragedy on Koh Tao. The Thai media has already engaged in investigative reporting on this case throughout the judicial process."

Pressure from Mynamar has also come from the National League for Democracy, which won the recent general elections. The party issued a statement urging the Myanmar government to give necessary assistance in filing an appeal on behalf of the Koh Tao convicts. The NLD also welcomed the protest against the court decision outside the Thai Embassy in a way that would not tarnish the country's dignity, Eleven Myanmar reported yesterday.

Source: The Nation

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Koh Tao Murders: Myanmar Journalists Urge Thai Press to ‘Reveal the Truth’

A van carrying Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo leaves Samui prison for Nakhon Si Thammarat prison Saturday morning.

 BANGKOK — The Myanmar Journalists Association is urging its Thai counterpart to work together and “reveal the truth” behind the conviction of two Myanmar men for the killings of two British backpackers in southern Thailand last year. 

In its open letter addressed to the Thai Journalist Association, the Myanmar media group said justice will prevail if media from the two nations work together in the coverage of the case, which has drawn intense scrutiny from the public.

“We do believe that our close cooperation in seeking justice after revealing the truth behind this controversial case will further promote the existing friendship not only between our two journalist associations but also between the peoples of our two countries,” the statement read, without mentioning any specifics. 

On Thursday Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, two Myanmar men who were bar workers on Tao island, were found guilty of killing British tourists David Miller and Hannah Witheridge on Sept. 15, 2014. They were also convicted of raping Witheridge. 

For their alleged crimes, the two men were sentenced to death. 

The verdict sparked outrage on Myanmar social media and prompted protests in front of the Thai Embassy in Yangon. The Embassy in turn issued a warning for all Thais in Myanmar to be alert of the ongoing development. 

The following is the full open letter published by the Myanmar Journalist Association: 

As journalists our responsibility is to seek truth and justice.
We, the Myanmar journalists, would never forget the warm assistance that you provided during our dark hours of flash floods all over our country during the recent months.
MJA and TJA worked together to lend a helping hand to the flood victims. We shall always be working together in the same spirit.
Now is the time that calls for similar cooperation between us.
Let’s work together for the benefits of our peoples and for our beloved countries so that justice prevails. Let’s show the world that Myanmar and Thai journalists will fight together for justice, human rights and democratic values.
We do believe that our close cooperation in seeking justice after revealing the truth behind this controversial case will further promote the existing friendship not only between our two journalist associations but also between the peoples of our two countries.
Myanmar Journalist Association

As of the time of this writing, the Thai Journalist Association has not made any public response to the letter. 

Police investigation into the killings of Miller and Witheridge has been mired in controversy from the start. These shortcomings include the police’s failure to close down the ferry port to prevent potential suspects from fleeing the island, wild and contradictory speculation over the motives behind the killing, and a remark by a high-ranking police officer who said the perpetrators “could not have been Thais.” 

After Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo were arrested and identified as the killers, nearly every mainstream news agency in Thailand reported about the case by taking the police statement at face value. The two defendants were repeatedly called “Koh Tao murderers” by much of the Thai press. 

However, many on social media accused police of “scapegoating” Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo as a cover-up effort ordered by influential families on Tao island. Police have vehemently denied the allegation. 

On Thursday, the court on Samui island ruled that DNA samples collected from the crime scene and from Witheridge’s body clearly implicated Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo in the double murder, and subsequently sentenced both men to death. 

Miller’s family was among the first to publicly endorse the verdict. Reading a statement outside the courthouse on Thursday, Miller’s brother, Michael Miller, said he believed the evidence against the two defendants was overwhelming. 

The defense team argued that the police’s DNA test procedure was flawed, and said it will file an appeal within 30 days. 

On Saturday morning, security officers moved Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo from Samui provincial prison to another prison on the mainland, in Nakhon Si Thammarat province. They are expected to remain on death row throughout the appeal.

Nakhon Chompuchat, head of the defense lawyer team, said yesterday he was not told when the two defendants would be moved. 

“The officers feared that if we knew the schedule, we might try to snatch the suspects on the way,” Nakhon said, with a laugh. 

To reach us about this article or another matter, please contact us by e-mail at: ks.english@khaosod.co.th.

Follow Khaosod English on Facebook and Twitter for news, politics and more from Thailand.

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AMAZING THAILAND

Myanmar pair guilty of Koh Tao murders, get death sentence.

KOH SAMUI, Thailand (AP) — A Thai court has sentenced two Myanmar migrants to death for murdering two British backpackers on a resort island last year.

In its ruling Thursday, the court said it found Win Zaw Htun and Zaw Lin, both 22, guilty of killing David Miller, 24, and raping then murdering Hannah Witheridege, 23, last year on the island of Koh Tao.

Andy Hall, an activist working with the defense team, said the two men were found guilty on all counts. The pair faces the death penalty, but they are expected to appeal.

 The battered bodies of Miller and Witheridge were found Sept. 15, 2014. Autopsies showed that the young backpackers had both suffered severe head wounds and that Witheridge had been raped.

 The defendants had pleaded innocent, saying they were tortured by police to make initial confessions to the crimes. Human rights groups repeatedly called for an independent investigation and raised concerns that the men might be scapegoats.

Source: Pattayamail

The battered bodies of Miller and Witheridge were found Sept. 15, 2014. Autopsies showed that the young backpackers had both suffered severe head wounds and that Witheridge had been raped.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
- See more at: http://www.pattayamail.com/worldnews/myanmar-migrants-found-guilty-of-killing-british-backpackers-54211#sthash.NZSHUQmD.dpuf

KOH SAMUI, Thailand (AP) — A Thai court has sentenced two Myanmar migrants to death for murdering two British backpackers on a resort island last year.

In its ruling Thursday, the court said it found Win Zaw Htun and Zaw Lin, both 22, guilty of killing David Miller, 24, and raping then murdering Hannah Witheridege, 23, last year on the island of Koh Tao.
Andy Hall, an activist working with the defense team, said the two men were found guilty on all counts. The pair faces the death penalty, but they are expected to appeal.

- See more at: http://www.pattayamail.com/worldnews/myanmar-migrants-found-guilty-of-killing-british-backpackers-54211#sthash.NZSHUQmD.dpuf