THAILAND-BLAST/POLICE-SUSPECT Thai police say Bangkok blast suspect has fled to Istanbul

Record ID: 141098

  • Title: THAILAND-BLAST/POLICE-SUSPECT Thai police say Bangkok blast suspect has fled to Istanbul
  • Date: 14th September 2015
  • Summary: BANGKOK, THAILAND (SEPTEMBER 14, 2015) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF THAI POLICE HEADQUARTERS THAI POLICE SPOKESMAN, PRAWUT THAWORNSIRI, WALKING TO PODIUM (SOUNDBITE) (Thai) THAI POLICE SPOKESMAN, PRAWUT THAWORNSIRI, SAYING: "Mr. Abudusataer left Dhaka (Bangladesh) on 30th of August for Delhi (India) on Jet Airways, and from Delhi he traveled on to Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), and from Abu Dhabi he went to Istanbul on the 31st of August." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS
  • Embargoed: 29th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Thailand
  • Country: Thailand
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAE7VHANC2PIGNDTMOP706NKLOR
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Thailand's police spokesman Prawut Thawornsiri said on Monday (September 14) that one of the latest suspects in the Bangkok blast investigation has fled to Istanbul, Turkey.
    No group has claimed responsibility for the August 17 attack at a Hindu shrine in Bangkok, which killed 20 people, including 14 foreign tourists, among them seven from Hong Kong and mainland China.
    The man investigators believe organised the plot and fled on the eve of the blast spent two weeks in Bangladesh before flying out of Dhaka on August 30. He had stated in an exit document his final destination was Beijing, via New Delhi, police said.
    Prawut said that the latest information police obtained has led them to believe that the man is now in Turkey.
    "Mr. Abudusataer left Dhaka (Bangladesh) on 30th of August for Delhi (India) on Jet Airways, and from Delhi he traveled on to Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), and from Abu Dhabi he went to Istanbul on the 31st of August," Prawut told reporters on Monday.
    Thai police have ruled out international militants as responsible for the attack but have not said why nor what they believe the motive was.
    The investigation had expanded to Malaysia, where two Malaysians and a Pakistani national were arrested.
    The investigation gained momentum with information from one of two detained suspects, who was arrested with a Chinese passport bearing the name Yusufu Mieraili.
    He admitted to giving a bag containing the device to the bomber and said another man, Abu Dustar Abdulrahman, alias Izan, had given orders to the plotters.
    Thai visas were issued in Kuala Lumpur to both men, according to a diplomatic source, using Chinese passports with names Abu Dustar Abdulrahman and Yusufu Mieraili, in October 2014 and February 2015 respectively.
    The use of Chinese passports, at least one of which stated Xinjiang as a birthplace, adds fuel to speculation the bombing may have been revenge by sympathisers of Turkic-speaking Uighur Muslims. Uighurs are from the Xinjiang region.
    Thailand was widely condemned in July for forcibly repatriating 109 Uighurs to China, where they say they are persecuted, an accusation Beijing rejects.
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