13/06/2026
The Swedish Uyghur Committee expresses grave concern over the death sentences recently imposed by the Bangkok South Criminal Court on two Uyghur men in connection with the 2015 Erawan Shrine bombing.
Twenty innocent people lost their lives in that attack, and their families deserve truth and justice. But justice is not only about a verdict, it also depends on public confidence that the process was independent, transparent, and free from political influence.
That confidence cannot simply be assumed.
The concern is underscored by Thailand’s broader record. In 2015, the same country deported more than 100 Uyghurs to China despite international warnings about the risk they faced. Again in 2025, more than 40 Uyghur refugees were deported, despite widespread concern that they would be returned to serious harm and death. Many of those previously returned have since disappeared from independent scrutiny, leaving families and human rights advocates without answers.
At the same time, the Chinese government has spent years promoting a narrative linking Uyghurs to extremism and terrorism, an approach that has been used to justify China’s ongoing genocide against Uyghurs in occupied East Turkistan. Under the framework of “counter-terrorism,” millions of Uyghurs, including intellectuals, religious leaders, parents, students, and the elderly, have been detained in a vast network of concentration camps. Where they face unimaginable abuse, including torture, sexual violence, forced indoctrination, forced labor, organ harvesting, and other serious violations.
Beyond these prisons and camps, continue to live under an extensive system of surveillance and social control. Families have been separated, children placed apart from their parents, and cultural and religious practices heavily restricted. In many cases, communities have been pressured to abandon their language, traditions, and identity. The result, critics argue, is not only political control but the gradual erasure of a people’s cultural and collective existence in their homeland.
Against this backdrop, difficult but necessary questions arise. Can a case involving Uyghur defendants be fully separated from the broader political environment in which narratives about Uyghurs have been heavily shaped by state interests? Can concerns about fairness be dismissed when the proceedings took place in a country where cooperation with the CCP on Uyghur deportations has previously occurred?
After a process spanning more than a decade, serious questions remain about transparency, due process, and the broader network of individuals originally linked to the attack. When the death penalty is at stake, such questions become even more critical.
This is not about excusing violence or presuming innocence. It is about insisting that justice must meet the highest standard of proof, not only in law, but also in public confidence.
The international community should therefore call for full transparency, independent international review of the evidence, and close monitoring of all ongoing and future appeal proceedings.
The world owes that to the victims, to the accused, and to the pursuit of truth and .
