Amnesty urges probe into allegations police tortured Koh Tao case suspects
Senior officers deny pair's confessions to Koh Tao killings were made under duress
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 09 October, 2014, 5:17am
UPDATED : Thursday, 09 October, 2014, 5:17am
Associated Press in Bangkok
Win (left) and Saw, suspects in the Koh Tao murder case. Photo: EPA
Human rights group Amnesty International called on Thai authorities yesterday to launch an independent investigation into allegations that police tortured a pair of suspects who reportedly confessed to killing two British tourists on a southern island last month.
The tourists were found dead on the rocky shores of Koh Tao on September 15, and police last week arrested two migrant workers from neighbouring Myanmar who they said had admitted responsibility for the killings.
Police denied the suspects had been tortured and said they had DNA evidence that backed up the confessions.
The arrests followed weeks of pressure on police to solve a case that dealt the latest blow to Thailand's tourism industry, which has been struggling to recover since the army staged a coup and imposed martial law in May.
Amnesty cited a lawyer from the Myanmar embassy's legal team, who met the suspects, as saying that one of the migrants "alleged police beat and threatened him with electrocution".
The group also said that "numerous sources had reported further acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of other migrant workers from Myanmar arrested by police in connection with the investigation".
Amnesty added: "Thai authorities must initiate an independent, effective and transparent investigation into mounting allegations of torture and other ill-treatment by police. The pressure to be seen to be solving an appalling crime that has garnered considerable attention should not result in the violation of rights, including to a fair trial."
On Tuesday, Thailand's national police chief Somyot Poompanmoung held a press conference in Bangkok to quash speculation and allegations on social media that his officers had framed the suspects or were seeking scapegoats to "solve" the case.
Another officer denied the torture allegations, and yesterday Police Lieutenant General Jaktip Chaijinda, the head of the investigation team, said "there was neither torture, nor threats against the suspects in this case".
The bodies of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24 were discovered on a rocky alcove along the shore near a hotel where both were staying. Autopsies showed that Witheridge died from head wounds while Miller suffered severe blows to the head and drowned in the surf. It is still unclear what prompted the killings.
Koh Tao, which is renowned for its quiet beaches and popular diving sites, is 410km south of Bangkok.
Police have identified the 21-year-old workers from Myanmar's western Rakhine state as Win and Saw. Both were detained on the island last Thursday.
