Myanmar migrant workers Zaw Lin (left) and Win Zaw Htun arrive at the Koh Samui provincial court in Koh Samui Thursday. A Thai judge found the two Myanmar migrant workers guilty of killing two British tourists at the end of last year, following a trial that has been mired in controversy.

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

Death sentence upheld for Myanmar pair over Brit killings in Thailand

Two Myanmar migrant workers convicted of killing a pair of British backpackers on a Thai holiday island lost their appeal against the death sentence, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun were found guilty of killing David Miller, 24, and the rape and murder of Hannah Witheridge, 23, whose battered bodies were found on a beach on the southern diving resort of Koh Tao in September 2015.

Their original conviction in December 2015 was mired in controversy.

Prosecutors insisted their evidence against the men was rock solid.

But the defence accused the police of bungling their investigation from the outset after local detectives came under huge pressure to solve a case that risked damaging the country's vital tourism sector.

Investigators were accused of failing to properly collect and preserve DNA samples and declining to test key pieces of evidence, such as Witheridge's clothes, or allow independent examination of the samples.

But a higher court threw out the defence's appeal.

"The Appeals Court upheld the Criminal Court's ruling against the two Myanmar suspects," Theerawut Phamhun, deputy provincial prosecutor of Surat Thani province, told AFP.

He said the appeal judges ruled the evidence investigation "were up to standard" and that DNA found at the scene matched the suspects.

The defence now have 30 days to appeal to Thailand's Supreme Court, the final court of appeal.

Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun's defence lawyer did not pick up his phone Wednesday.

While Thailand keeps the death penalty on its books it is rarely carried out.

    

Defence to appeal Koh Tao verdicts

    

    

    

    

    

Thailand vil stadig henrette to mænd for mordet på britisk par







To mænd fra Myanmar, der er dødsdømt for mordet på et britisk par på øen Koh Tao i Thailand, SKAL henrettes.
Det har Thailands højesteret netop besluttet, fordi de kriminaltekniske beviser og beviserne fra mobiltelefoner alle støtter den oprindelige strafudmåling.

Kroppene af den 23-årige Hannah Witheridge og den 24-årige David Miller blev fundet på stranden på Koh Tao i september 2014.

Witheridge var blevet voldtaget og slået ihjel, men Miller havde skader på hovedet, og han druknede efter at være blevet slæbt ud i havet.

To gæstearbejdere fra Myanmar, Saw Lin og Wai Phyo, blev fundet skyldige i mordene og idømt dødsstraf i december 2015.

Dødsdommene udløste dog protester fra flere lande.

Det blev blandt andet hævdet, at der var blevet lavet falske beviser mod dem, og at dna fra de to var blevet forkert behandlet. Det skriver Sky News.

De to mænds forsvarere sagde, at deres oprindelige indrømmelser – som senere blev trukket tilbage – var fremkommet under tortur. De kendte heller ikke til deres rettigheder, da de blev afhørt første gang.

Efterforskningen af mordene på de to briter, som havde mødt hinanden på netop Koh Tao, hvor de boede på samme hotel, blev kritiseret, da den var i gang.

Det thailandske politi blev kraftigt kritiseret for deres håndtering af sagen, og mange sagde efter dommen i 2015, at de to fra Myanmar var syndebukke.

Da højesteret nu holdt fast i dødsdommene, sad de to dømte med benene og hænderne låst fast, mens de lyttede til beslutningen.

Det er nu op til kongen at beslutte, om de to faktisk skal henrettes. En sidste appel skal sendes til kong Maha Vajiralongkorn om benådning.

kilde: https://www.bt.dk...ritisk-par