The South Bangkok Criminal Court last Thursday (7 November) ruled to acquit Wanna Suansan, a 36-year-old woman accused of being involved in the 2015 Erawan Shrine bombing, due to insufficient evidence.

Wanna was charged with complicity in murder, attempted murder and possessing an illegal explosive device, among other charges, after she was accused of renting a property and supplying chemicals to other defendants charged with the bombing. She was arrested on 22 November 2017 and released around a month later when she was granted bail. During the regime of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), Wanna was tried in a Military Court until 2019, when cases involving weapons possession were transferred back to civilian courts by an order from the head of the NCPO and then Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Two Uyghur men, Adem Karadağ, also known as Bilal Mohammad, and Yusufu Mieraili were also arrested and charged as the main suspects in the bombing. Their trials are still ongoing.

The South Bangkok Criminal Court yesterday (7 November) ruled to acquit Wanna of all charges on the grounds that there is not enough evidence linking her to the bombing. Her DNA or fingerprints were not found on evidence confiscated from Karadağ’s apartment, which included chemicals used to make explosive. There is no evidence linking her to Karadağ or Mieraili, or that she was at the scene of the bombing, assisting the suspects, or that she rented their apartment.

No contact between Wanna and the two suspects were found in her phone records, and the prosecution did not present evidence connecting Wanna and her husband to Karadağ and Mieraili. The testimony of a food vendor who said she saw Wanna with Mieraili in a Muslim neighbourhood also does not prove that Wanna was connected to the bombing, since the Court said that it could be a normal occurrence unconnected to the bombing for Wanna and Mieraili, who are both Muslim, to be in the same neighbourhood.

The Court noted that Karadağ and Mieraili did not mention Wanna when they were questioned by the police. An investigation by the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) also found no financial connection between Wanna and the other suspects.

Wanna said after her acquittal that she wanted to thank the court for acquitting her. She has been fighting her charges for 7 years with no end in sight, and was starting to get discouraged because she feels like she was being treated unfairly. Her prosecution has also affected her family, especially her three children.

It is unclear whether the prosecution will file an appeal. Wanna’s lawyer, Choochart Kanpai, said he did not ask the public prosecutor about this because he did not want to interfere with their work.