Thai trial of suspected Uighur bombers postponed

By CS Thana

BANGKOK (AA) - Judges at Bangkok's Military Court postponed the trial of two Chinese Uighur men on charges of involvement in last year's Bangkok bombing Tuesday in order to find them a Turkic language speaker.

Lawyers for Adem Karadag and Yusuf Mieraili had requested that the court postpone the opening of the trial until Sept. 15 so they could find someone who speaks Uighur -- a Turkic dialect spoken by the people of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

"We have petitioned the judge to formally request assistance from the World Uyghur Congress [WUC]," lawyer Choochart Kanphai told Anadolu Agency after the opening day of the trial.

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.

Many Turks refer to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region as East Turkestan.

Judges also refused a request Tuesday from the defendants asking them to be moved from the special military prison where they are currently being held.

The court ruled that because the trial was a special case and "related to national security," they would continue to be housed away from others and remain in military custody.

Karadag and Mieraili have been charged with the Aug. 17 bombing at a Hindu shrine in downtown Bangkok, which left 20 people dead and 125 others injured.

The two men -- who have denied the charges -- last appeared at a Thai military court May 17, shackled, barefoot, and distraught.