The trial of two Myanmar migrants accused of murdering a pair of British tourists is set to resume Thursday (April 30) on Koh Samui in Surat Thani province.
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Bangkok Post
Wednesday 29 April 2015, 05:53PM
Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun are charged with murdering David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, on Sai Ree beach on the neighbouring island of Koh Tao on September 15. They also are charged with raping Witheridge.
The case has drawn much international attention, and various observers have accused the Thai authorities of framing the Myanmar men, both 21, and organising a coverup after members of a local organised-crime gang were implicated.
Defence and prosecution lawyers at Thursday's hearing are expected to update the court as to the progress of preparing witnesses, the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) reported.
The court is also expected to consider the recent requests by the defence team that physical evidence be re-examined by the Ministry of Justice's Central Institute of Forensic Science, and for more information provided regarding the process of DNA analysis.
Thai police have nevertheless remained confident that DNA evidence will prove that the Myanmar pair are guilty. Results of an investigation by British police from Scotland Yard were never made public, but the families of the two murdered Britons have reportedly been in contact with British authorities and say they are convinced Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun are guilty.
A lawyer representing the migrants told DVB in October that the pair told their legal team and members of the Myanmar embassy that they were tortured into giving confessions.
Meanwhile, some 100 Myanmar migrant workers joined a workshop on Koh Tao on Monday and Tuesday (April 27/28) to discuss migrant rights.
Participants in the workshop, organised by the Migrant Worker Rights Network (MWRN) and the Human Rights and Development Foundation, on Tuesday set out an eight-point list of demands to Thai authorities, including: regular pay for migrant workers; the opening of a Myanmar migrant passport centre; preventing police and officials from acting above the law; and conformity to labour regulations.
A letter with the demands was handed over to the Koh Tao municipal chief on Tuesday.
"I believe that organising networks here will be very helpful in promoting the rights of migrants," said a Myanmar organiser of the event. "Many migrants on the island live in fear. They do not know their rights and are afraid of the authorities."
Some 4,000 Myanmar nationals work on Koh Tao. Organisers said most did not attend the workshop because they feared repercussions from the local police.
One attendee told DVB: "Previously, I would have been afraid to come to a workshop like this. But if both migrant workers and officials are aware of and respect labour rights, this island will be a safer and better place for us."
Andy Hall, a British activist working on migrants' issues for the MWRN, said, "I have been to this island many times in assisting [Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun] during the hearings in the murder case. During that time, I have learned more and more about the plight of migrant workers on this island which is so popular among foreign tourists."
Read original story here.
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/koh-tao-murders-trial-resumes-thursday/
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