THAILAND-BLAST/ARREST WARRANTS Suspect in Bangkok blast probe admits to explosives charges

Record ID: 141612

  • Title: THAILAND-BLAST/ARREST WARRANTS Suspect in Bangkok blast probe admits to explosives charges
  • Date: 7th September 2015
  • Summary: BANGKOK, THAILAND (SEPTEMBER 7, 2015) (REUTERS) POLICE SPOKESMAN PRAWUT THAWORNSIRI TALKING AT PODIUM (SOUNDBITE) (Thai) POLICE SPOKESMAN PRAWUT THAWORNSIRI SAYING: "Police pressed charges (against the suspect) according to the arrest warrant: possession of explosive devices which are not permitted. The suspect acknowledged the charges and admitted to it." PRAWUT TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (Thai) POLICE SPOKESMAN PRAWUT THAWORNSIRI SAYING: "Mr. Abdullah Abdullahman, we cannot find his photo, so we have only a sketch." SKETCH OF SUSPECT IDENTIFIED AS ABDULLAH ABDULLAHMAN (SOUNDBITE) (Thai) POLICE SPOKESMAN PRAWUT THAWORNSIRI SAYING: "This man is around 175 centimetres height. We got this photo from closed circuit camera inside a shopping mall." PHOTO OF UNNAMED SUSPECT PRAWUT TALKING IN NEWS CONFERENCE HANDS HOLDING PHOTOS OF TWO SUSPECTS PRAWUT HOLDING PHOTOS OF TWO SUSPECTS NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS
  • Embargoed: 22nd September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Thailand
  • Country: Thailand
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVADAKCCLN98VXDQLON29KYG8Q2G
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Police said a suspect in the recent blast in Bangkok had admitted to charges of possession of explosive devices and that arrest warrants had been issued for another two foreign men on Monday (September 7).
    The Thai military transferred the blast investigation suspect into police custody on Monday under Article 44 which allows the military to hold anyone for a week without charges.
    The suspect who was carrying a Chinese passport which gave his name as Yusufu Mieraili, was detained last week at the Thai-Cambodian border. The passport also showed his place of birth as the western Chinese region of Xinjiang, but it was unclear if it was authentic.
    "Police pressed charges (against the suspect) according to the arrest warrant: possession of explosive devices which are not permitted. The suspect acknowledged the charges and admitted to it," said Prawut Thawornsiri, police spokesman.
    Prawut added that Mieraili spoke both English and Turkish during an interrogation.
    Police found parts of bomb-making materials, such as detonators, and a metal pipe, apparently meant to be used as a bomb in an apartment in the suburb of Bangkok.
    On Monday, police issued another two arrest warrants, looking for two foreign men with unknown nationalities, believed to have stayed in the same apartment.
    "Mr. Abdullah Abdullahman, we cannot find his photo, so we have only a sketch," said Prawut.
    The other suspect's name and nationality are unknown, and police only had a blurry photo of him.
    "This man is around 175 centimetres height. We got this photo from closed circuit camera inside a shopping mall," said Prawut.
    The Aug. 17 blast that ripped through a Hindu shrine killed 20 people including foreigners.
    With no claim of responsibility, speculation has centred on sympathisers of Uighur Muslims, opponents of the military government, southern ethnic Malay rebels and foreign extremists.
    Thailand's forced repatriation of 109 Uighurs to China in July caused international outrage and saw protesters smash windows and ransack parts of the Thai consulate in Istanbul.
    Many Uighurs transit through Southeast Asia to try to get to Turkey, which has a large diaspora.
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