BANGKOK, Thailand – A verdict is due tomorrow from the Bangkok South Criminal Court in the devastating Erawan Shrine bombing case, nearly eleven years after the attack that killed 20 people and injured over 120. The two Uyghur defendants, Adem Karadag and Mieraili Yusufu, will finally face judgment for causing an explosion resulting in death. This monumental trial, marked by delayed witness testimonies and a detained interpreter, is entering its final phase.
A yellow shirt and three kilos of TNT
The date August 17, 2015, is etched into Bangkok’s collective memory. At 18:55, a massive explosion ripped through the Erawan Shrine at the Ratchaprasong intersection, a popular tourist hub. Surveillance cameras had previously captured a man in a yellow shirt placing a bag on a bench near the shrine.
The bag contained approximately three kilograms of TNT. The blast killed 20 people, including six Thais and 14 foreign visitors. Five of the victims were from China, five from Malaysia, two from Hong Kong, and one each from Indonesia and Singapore. More than 120 individuals sustained injuries, some severe.
Second bomb at Sathorn Pier
Just one day later, on August 18, 2015, another explosive device detonated near the Sathorn Pier. Fortunately, there were no casualties this time. Security authorities suspected a connection to the Erawan Shrine attack and urgently sought the perpetrators.
On August 29, 2015, police arrested Adem Karadag at an apartment in the Nong Chok district. Mieraili Yusufu was apprehended shortly thereafter. Both are ethnic Uyghurs and were part of a group of over 17 suspects investigated in connection with the bombing.
Revenge for deported Uyghurs
A potential motive for the perpetrators quickly emerged. Weeks before the attack, Thai authorities had deported nearly 100 Uyghur Muslims to China. Investigators believe to this day that the Erawan Shrine bombing was a bloody act of revenge for this deportation.
The case subsequently evolved into one of the longest and most chaotic criminal trials in Thailand’s recent history. Both defendants recanted their initial confessions before a military court in February 2016 and pleaded not guilty.
Detained interpreter and a hundred mistranslations
The proceedings then took a bizarre turn. Police arrested the defense’s English-Uyghur interpreter on drug-related charges. This necessitated the court obtaining a new translator through the Chinese embassy, leading to significant delays.
In late 2019, the case was transferred from the military court to the Bangkok South Criminal Court. An independent observer also noted that the interpreter provided by the embassy had mistranslated over 100 terms. After seven years, the court had only heard from 40 out of over 400 summoned witnesses.
Lawyer breaks leg, proceedings on ice
At the end of 2022, another setback occurred. Adem Karadag’s lawyer broke his leg in an accident, forcing the trial to pause once again. It later resumed, but the slow pace of evidence gathering prevented a verdict for years.
In addition to procedural issues, the condition of the defendants also raised humanitarian concerns. Adem Karadag appeared in court in a wheelchair at one point, severely emaciated and in poor health. He complained to the judge about not receiving Halal meals in compliance with his Muslim faith at the Lak Si detention facility.
Acquittal due to lack of evidence
The third defendant in the case, Thai national Wanna Suansan, was acquitted on November 7, 2024. The court found no connection to the suspects, with no fingerprints, DNA traces, financial transactions, or phone records linking her. Furthermore, she was already abroad at the time of the incident.
For Karadag and Yusufu, tomorrow is the culmination of nearly eleven years since the attack. No one awaits judicial clarification more eagerly than the families of the 20 victims and the over 100 injured who continue to suffer the consequences to this day.