Thai Court Sentences Two Men to Death for 2015 Bangkok Shrine Bombing, Acquits Them on Separate Charges

A Thai court sentenced Adem Karadag and Yusufu Mieraili to death on 11 June 2026 for carrying out the 2015 bombing at Bangkok’s Erawan Shrine. The explosion killed 20 people and wounded 120 others. Five of those killed were from mainland China and two were from Hong Kong.

The attack occurred at the Erawan Shrine, a popular tourist destination in central Bangkok. The court stated that the actions of both defendants constituted multiple separate offences, including premeditated murder. The trial lasted more than a decade.

Prosecutors collected evidence from hundreds of witnesses and struggled to find an appropriate interpreter for the suspects. Adem Karadag and Yusufu Mieraili have previously denied all charges. Their lawyer Chamroen Panompakakorn said the men will appeal the death sentence.

Under Thai law, appeals must be filed within one month of the verdict. Their other lawyer, Choochat Kanpai, said the court had not considered multiple factors in their defence and that he would ask for an extension to file an appeal. No group claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Security experts have linked the attack to anger over Thailand’s deportation of more than 100 Uyghurs to China weeks earlier. China foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated on Thursday that China supports the Thai court’s verdict. “The perpetrators acted with utter inhumanity and committed a heinous crime,” he said.

Last year, Thailand deported another 40 Uyghurs back to China.