The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) has strongly criticized the imposition of the death penalty on two Uyghur men from China’s Xinjiang region by a Thai court, calling the trial deeply flawed and urging the immediate quashing of their convictions.

On 11 June 2026, the Bangkok South Criminal Court convicted Bilal Mohammed and Yusufu Mieraili of carrying out the August 2015 bombing of the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, which killed 20 people and injured more than 120 others. The two men, who have maintained their innocence, were sentenced to death after nearly 11 years in detention. Both plan to appeal the verdict.

FIDH described the ruling as a serious miscarriage of justice, highlighting repeated violations of the defendants’ fundamental rights throughout their prolonged detention and trial.

"The death sentence imposed on the two Uyghurs adds insult to injury. After the numerous fair trial rights violations to which the two have been subjected, they could now face the violation of their most fundamental right – the right to life," said FIDH Vice-President Teppei Ono. "Their sentence should be quashed, and due process should be restored."

According to FIDH, the trial was marred by serious breaches, including violations of the right to liberty, protection from torture and ill-treatment, the right to challenge the lawfulness of detention, and the right to a fair and timely trial before an independent tribunal. These rights are protected under international treaties to which Thailand is a party, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention against Torture (CAT).

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) had previously declared the detention of both men as arbitrary and called for their immediate release.The two men were arrested in late August 2015 — Bilal Mohammed in Bangkok and Yusufu Mieraili in Cambodia before being transferred to Thailand. They spent most of the past decade in military custody at a facility within the 11th Army Circle before being moved to Bangkok Remand Prison in March 2025. The trial, which began in 2016, dragged on for nearly a decade, moving from a military court to a civilian one in 2019.

FIDH has renewed its long-standing call on Thailand to abolish the death penalty entirely. In the interim, the organization urged Thai authorities to impose an official moratorium on executions, commute all existing death sentences, and reduce the number of crimes punishable by death. As of March 2026, 460 prisoners remained on death row in Thailand.

The case has drawn international attention due to the lengthy pretrial detention, allegations of ill-treatment, and concerns over the fairness of proceedings involving Uyghur defendants in Southeast Asia. (ILKHA)