4 Thai Muslims Acquited in Terror Case

East Asia / Pacific - Thailand
1 Jun 2005 - Associated Press

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Four Thai Muslims were acquitted Wednesday of belonging to an al-Qaida linked terrorist organization and plotting to bomb the U.S. Embassy and tourist destinations in Thailand.

The Criminal Court ruled there was insufficient evidence and witness testimony to convict the suspects of belonging to Jemaah Islamiyah, an al-Qaida-linked extremist group, or of planning attacks in the Thai capital and southern Thailand two years ago, said Judge Peng Pengniti.

The suspects were arrested in southern Thailand in June 2003 and accused of plotting to bomb the embassies of the United States, Britain, Israel, Singapore and Australia as well as targets in the tourist hotspots of Pattaya and Phuket.

"There is no evidence to convict the four defendants," said the judge, adding that no explosive materials were found with the suspects.

The accused men — Dr. Waemahadi Wae-dao, school owner Maisuru Haji Abdulloh and his son Muyahid, and a manual laborer, Samarn Wae-kaji — also allegedly discussed plans to kidnap and possibly kill foreign ambassadors in Thailand, according to police testimony.

If convicted, they could have faced a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

One of the suspects, Waemahadi, said he felt "indifferent" about Wednesday's decision "because I did not do anything wrong in the first place."

The suspects were arrested after police in Bangkok detained Singaporean Arifin bin Ali, allegedly a senior Jemaah Islamiyah member, in May 2003. Arifin implicated three of the four suspects as his conspirators in the planned strikes.

Defense lawyer Sittiphong Chantharawiroj said prosecutors have 30 days to file an appeal

The arrest of the four suspects has provoked outrage among Muslims in Thailand's restive Muslim-dominated south, where more than 860 people have been killed in attacks authorities have blamed on the resurgence of a decades-old insurgency.

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