Two Uighur Muslims from China pleaded not guilty Tuesday at a Thai military court to carrying out the deadly bombing at Bangkok's Erawan Shrine last year, just months after they had reportedly confessed to all of their alleged crimes.
The two bombing suspects, Bilal Mohammad, 31, and Yusufu Mieraili, 27, appeared at the Thai military court in shackles and handcuffs while wearing beige Thai prison uniforms. They entered their pleas on various charges they face related to the bombing, including murder, premeditated murder and illegal possession of explosives, according to CNN.
Police said that both men had already confessed to playing a part in the Aug. 17 explosion that left 20 people, including 14 foreign tourists, dead and more than 120 injured. With them arguing that the incident was revenge by a human-smuggling syndicate whose operations had become disrupted by a crackdown.
However, the two suspects - and one of their lawyers - spoke out against their reported "admission of guilt," saying that the two bomb suspects had been tortured to elicit a confession, The Washington Post reported.
Bilal's lawyer, Chuchart Kanpai, told reporters that his client said he was tortured three weeks after his arrest so he would admit to being the person seen in the surveillance video planting the bomb and obtain a false confession of guilt.
The torture Bilal was reportedly subjected to included having cold water poured on his nose, threats of being sent back to China and a barking dog being used to frighten him.
"He was tortured by officials. He didn't know if they were soldiers or police because they were non-uniformed," Chuchart said. "Back then, he confessed so that he wouldn't be tortured again. He was just saying it."
Mierali also professed his innocence but made no mention of whether he had been tortured.
"I am an innocent Muslim," he said, later asking the court to accelerate proceedings since he had spent six months in jail already, according to Reuters.
As the proceedings continue, there have been few other developments in regards to the bombing. The most recent one came in December when police said that two other suspects wanted in connection to the Bangkok bombing had been arrested and that Thailand was in the process of requesting their extradition. There has been no progress on that front, and Thai police reported earlier this week that they were unsure of the suspects' whereabouts.
A total of 17 people have been identified as being connected to the bombing, all of which had warrants issued for their arrest. However, 15 of those wanted still remain at large.