Translator trouble deepens delay in bomb trial
The trial of two Chinese Uighurs accused of a deadly Bangkok shrine bombing was postponed for a second time Thursday as the court again failed to find a suitable translator for the suspects.
The August 2015 bombing left 20 dead in the centre of the city in an unprecedented attack on the junta-ruled nation.
The two accused, Yusufu Mieraili and Bilal Mohammed, were scooped up by Thai police in the days after the bombing and have been held in military custody ever since. Both deny the charges.
Thursday's delay added a fresh layer of farce to a case that has been marked by official obfuscation, with police unable to offer a convincing motive for the attack, according to analysts.
More than a dozen ethnic Chinese tourists were among the dead when explosives -- apparently left in a backpack -- detonated in a Hindu shrine popular with tourists last year.
The blast came weeks after Thailand's junta forcibly repatriated 109 Uighurs to China, where rights activists says the Turkic-speaking Muslim minority face cultural and religious repression.
The timing prompted speculation that the attack was part of a revenge plot against a country which had been a key transit hub for Uighurs as Thailand's military leaders have grown closer to Beijing.