Translator fears persist as Bangkok bomb trial adjourns

By Arun Saronchai

BANGKOK

A hearing on two Uighur men suspected of a bombing in the Thai capital in which 20 people died adjourned Wednesday with concerns unresolved about the choice of translator.

The Chinese government has provided a Uighur translator for the duo -- after applications for two other Turkic language speakers failed -- but the men claim the choice is unjust as Beijing has a history of abusing the Muslim ethnic group.

On Wednesday, the defense lawyer for one of the men said that if problems persist he would ask for a new translator immediately.

"If there is a problem in the future we will petition the court, but so far it is okay," Choochart Khanphai told reporters outside the Bangkok courtroom.

Yusufu Mieraili and Adem Karadag are accused of carrying out a bombing in downtown Bangkok in August 2015 that left 20 people dead and more than 100 injured.

Both men have recanted earlier confessions, saying they were coerced by Thai authorities to admit their guilt.

The trial had previously been postponed after the men's original translator, Uzbek man Sirojiddin Bakhodirov, was arrested by Thai police on drugs charges and the court refused a defense request to bring in someone from the London-based World Uyghur Congress (WUC).

On a third occasion, no translator was present so the court adjourned until mid-November.

Uzbek and Uighur are dialects of a language family spoken by Turkic peoples from southeast Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and western China.

According to its website, the WUC's focus is to promote the right of the Uighur people to use peaceful, nonviolent, and democratic means to determine the political future of East Turkestan. However, China has designated the WUC and its affiliates as terrorist organizations.

Wednesday's hearing saw investigative officials give testimony on how they traced the bombing to the two men.

Police have said that both suspects confessed to being paid by a mastermind to build and plant the bomb but Karadag’s lawyer has said his client was tortured into a confession by plainclothes men while in military custody.

"My client was intimidated by these men. They were waterboarded, threatened with large dogs and threatened with deportation to China," Khanphai -- who claims his client is really named Bilal Mohammed -- told reporters Jan. 16.

The next hearing will be in March. Prosecution and defense lawyers expect a verdict to be announced in early 2018.