Thai Court Sentences Two Uyghur Men to Death Over 2015 Bangkok Shrine Bombing
Thai Court Sentences Two Uyghur Men to Death Over 2015 Bangkok Shrine Bombing
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A Thai court has sentenced two ethnic Uyghur men to death over the 2015 bombing of Bangkok’s Erawan Shrine, one of the deadliest attacks in Thailand’s recent history.
The court found Yusufu Mieraili and Bilal Mohammad, also known as Adem Karadag, guilty over the blast, which struck the popular shrine in central Bangkok in August 2015. The attack killed 20 people and injured more than 120 others, including foreign tourists. Among the dead were five people from mainland China and two from Hong Kong.
According to the court, the defendants committed multiple offenses, including premeditated murder, which carried the death penalty. The two men have denied the charges, and their lawyers said they plan to appeal the verdict within the legal deadline.
The case took more than a decade to reach judgment, partly because prosecutors gathered evidence from hundreds of witnesses and because authorities struggled to secure suitable interpretation for the defendants. The trial initially proceeded in a military court before later moving to a civilian court.
No group claimed responsibility for the bombing. Thai authorities previously suggested the attack may have been linked to a people-smuggling network, while security analysts have pointed to possible retaliation over Thailand’s forced deportation of more than 100 Uyghurs to China in July 2015, one month before the bombing.
That deportation drew condemnation from the United States, Turkey, UN agencies and human rights groups, which warned that Uyghurs returned to China could face persecution, torture or other abuses. Beijing rejects allegations of systematic mistreatment in Xinjiang and says its policies are aimed at combating extremism.
The issue returned to international attention in 2025, when Thailand deported another 40 Uyghurs to China despite warnings from UN human rights experts and foreign governments that they could face serious harm after return.
