Death penalty for Erawan Shrine bombers, no commutation

A Thai court has sentenced defendants in Erawan Shrine bombing case to death, with no grounds for commutation.

After 11 years, a verdict has been reached in the case concerning the 2015 bombing at the Erawan Shrine at Ratchaprasong Intersection in the heart of Bangkok.

The Bangkok South Criminal Court delivered its verdict at 9.00am this morning, in a case filed by public prosecutors against Adem Karadag and his co-defendant Yusufu Mieraili.

The court stated that the defendants are guilty and sentenced both Karadag and Mieraili to death. The court found no grounds for a reduction of the sentences for premeditated murder.

Mieraili refused to accept the verdict. He shouted his dissent inside the courtroom, calling for a moment of mourning for the “lack of justice” and maintaining his innocence.

The small but powerful bomb, packed with ball bearings, killed 20 people and injured 123 when it exploded at the Erawan Shrine in the heart of Bangkok's shopping district on August 17, 2015.

The dead and injured included nationals from Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Oman and the Maldives.

The case spanned more than a decade, involving testimony from over 400 prosecution and more than 45 defence witnesses, as well as over 10,000 pages of documents and a large amount of physical evidence.

In 2016, proceedings were delayed when the defence was unable to secure a Uyghur translator, in a ruling by the military court.

In November 2022, the trial resumed after years of delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and difficulties in securing translators.

In November 2024, Thai national Wanna Suansan was acquitted of all charges related to the bombing. She had been accused of complicity in murder, attempted murder and possession of an illegal explosive device in connection with the attack. A Bangkok court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to support the charges.

The bombing targeted a shrine popular with ethnic Chinese visitors and occurred weeks after Thailand's then-military government forcibly repatriated 109 Uyghurs to China, where rights groups claim that the Muslim minority faces cultural and religious repression.