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| Men accused of killing British tourists in Thailand refused access to Met report | Men accused of killing British tourists in Thailand refused access to Met report |
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| Two Burmese men accused of the murder of two British tourists in Thailand in September 2014 have lost a high court challenge that sought access to a secret report by Scotland Yard on the Thai police investigation into their alleged crimes. | Two Burmese men accused of the murder of two British tourists in Thailand in September 2014 have lost a high court challenge that sought access to a secret report by Scotland Yard on the Thai police investigation into their alleged crimes. |
| Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo – also known as Win Zaw Htun – are standing trial on the island of Koh Samui for the murder of David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, and face the death penalty if convicted. | |
| Related: UK police to work on Thai murder inquiry | Related: UK police to work on Thai murder inquiry |
| Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo brought a legal challenge at the high court in London after the Metropolitan police refused to hand over a report it compiled on the Royal Thai police investigation on the understanding it would never be published. | |
| High court judge Mr Justice Green rejected the men’s application on Tuesday after hearing arguments from Scotland Yard that breaking the confidentiality agreement with the Thai authorities would damage international cooperation. He said he had concluded that there was nothing of “real value” to the men in the report or of material assistance to the their defence, but added he had felt unease when reaching his findings. | High court judge Mr Justice Green rejected the men’s application on Tuesday after hearing arguments from Scotland Yard that breaking the confidentiality agreement with the Thai authorities would damage international cooperation. He said he had concluded that there was nothing of “real value” to the men in the report or of material assistance to the their defence, but added he had felt unease when reaching his findings. |
| The judgment, which is not to be appealed, will come as a severe blow to Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo – both restaurant workers – who have claimed they were tortured into confessing to the murders and to open their defence case shortly. | |
| Zoe Bedford, lawyer at human rights charity Reprieve, which brought the case on behalf of the defendants, questioned the judge’s conclusion that there was nothing of value to the men in the Met report. “If justice is to be done, it is essential that the UK authorities do everything in their power to ensure that these men have a fair trial – including disclosing all material that could be of relevance to the case,” she said. | Zoe Bedford, lawyer at human rights charity Reprieve, which brought the case on behalf of the defendants, questioned the judge’s conclusion that there was nothing of value to the men in the Met report. “If justice is to be done, it is essential that the UK authorities do everything in their power to ensure that these men have a fair trial – including disclosing all material that could be of relevance to the case,” she said. |
| “Only the defence lawyers in Thailand are in a position to judge whether the information could be of assistance and it is disappointing that they have been denied the opportunity to do so.” | “Only the defence lawyers in Thailand are in a position to judge whether the information could be of assistance and it is disappointing that they have been denied the opportunity to do so.” |
| Witheridge, from Norfolk, and Miller, from Jersey were found dead on Sairee beach on the island of Koh Tao. Witheridge was raped and beaten to death, while Miller was struck on the head and left to drown in shallow surf. | Witheridge, from Norfolk, and Miller, from Jersey were found dead on Sairee beach on the island of Koh Tao. Witheridge was raped and beaten to death, while Miller was struck on the head and left to drown in shallow surf. |
| Concerns over the suspects’ alleged mistreatment led David Cameron and his Thai counterpart, Prayuth Chan-ocha, to agree to allow the Met police to conduct an inquiry in an attempt to reassure the victims’ families that the judicial process was being carried out in a fair and transparent way and that the murderers would be brought to justice. | Concerns over the suspects’ alleged mistreatment led David Cameron and his Thai counterpart, Prayuth Chan-ocha, to agree to allow the Met police to conduct an inquiry in an attempt to reassure the victims’ families that the judicial process was being carried out in a fair and transparent way and that the murderers would be brought to justice. |
| The families of Miller and Witheridge ultimately backed the Thai police after the Met’s review of the investigation, adding that the “suspects have a difficult case to answer”. | The families of Miller and Witheridge ultimately backed the Thai police after the Met’s review of the investigation, adding that the “suspects have a difficult case to answer”. |
| “The evidence against them appears to be powerful and convincing. They must respond to these charges, and their arguments must be considered with the same scrutiny as those of the prosecution,” they said. | “The evidence against them appears to be powerful and convincing. They must respond to these charges, and their arguments must be considered with the same scrutiny as those of the prosecution,” they said. |
| Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, who claim they were beaten and scalded by Thai police seeking confessions, requested a copy of the Met report under the Data Protection Act but this was refused. | Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, who claim they were beaten and scalded by Thai police seeking confessions, requested a copy of the Met report under the Data Protection Act but this was refused. |
| Despite accepting the Met’s arguments against disclosure, Mr Justice Green said he had felt “very considerable unease” when reaching his conclusions. | Despite accepting the Met’s arguments against disclosure, Mr Justice Green said he had felt “very considerable unease” when reaching his conclusions. |
| “I sit at a long distance from the seat of the trial and I do not have a true ‘hands on’ feel for the way the evidence has been tendered in the trial to date or how the accused might structure their defences,” the judge said. | “I sit at a long distance from the seat of the trial and I do not have a true ‘hands on’ feel for the way the evidence has been tendered in the trial to date or how the accused might structure their defences,” the judge said. |
| “I have not been assisted by the lack of evidence about the Thai proceedings or as to the evidence that has in fact been tendered by the prosecution or as to the main lines of the defence. | “I have not been assisted by the lack of evidence about the Thai proceedings or as to the evidence that has in fact been tendered by the prosecution or as to the main lines of the defence. |
| “I have had to work these out for myself doing, as the parties put it, ‘the best I could’. This has not been a comfortable process.” | “I have had to work these out for myself doing, as the parties put it, ‘the best I could’. This has not been a comfortable process.” |