Koh Tao verdict expected on Dec 24
The Nation
KOH SAMUI: -- A team of pro-bono lawyers representing 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 is anxiously awaiting the verdict, scheduled for December 24.
They called on the court to dismiss the case.
In a statement released today, they insisted that the two workers - Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo - were innocent. They stressed that the case questioning and charging of the accused prior to prosecution was unlawful. The accused were also tortured to confess. There is no link between the alleged murder weapon (a hoe) and the accused. Circumstantial evidence was unreliable.
Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were murdered on September 15, 2014. Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo were arrested on October 2.
Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Koh-Tao-verdict-expected-on-Dec-24-30275353.html
-- The Nation 2015-12-21
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Koh Tao Murders: Defense Asserts Innocence as Judgment Looms
By Teeranai Charuvastra
Staff Reporter
In this Oct. 3, 2014, file photo, police presented Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo to a crowd of reporters on Tao island.
BANGKOK — Lawyers representing two Burmese men accused of murdering a pair of British backpackers in southern Thailand last year called again for their acquittal acquittal last night, four days before the verdict is read.
Repeating their central arguments throughout the four-month trial, lawyers for Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo said in a statement Sunday night that the evidence against them is deeply flawed, and that their confessions were obtained under torture.
“All of this evidence was not collected, tested or analysed in accordance with internationally accepted standards such as ISO 17025,” the statement said. “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.”
The two Burmese migrant workers, who are both 22, were accused of murdering British tourists David Miller and Hannah Witheridge on Koh Tao on Sep. 15, 2014.
Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1450679854
-- Khaosod English 2015-12-21
