Thai authorities on Saturday issued an arrest warrant for a 12th suspect in connection with last month’s bombing at a Bangkok landmark that killed 20 people, identifying him as a 27-year-old ethnic Uighur from China.
Police identified the suspect from the name that is in his passport, Abudusataer Abudureheman , but said he also uses the name “Ishan.”
Although Saturday’s police handout on the suspect identified him as Uighur, police later asked the media not to use the term. It is the first time a suspect has officially been identified that way.
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has suggested those behind the Aug. 17 bombing may have been from a gang involved in smuggling Uighurs (pronounced WEE-gurs) from the Chinese region of Xinjiang, while others speculate they may be separatists or Islamist extremists angry that Thailand repatriated more than 100 Uighurs to China in July.
Uighurs complain of oppression by the Chinese government, and some advocate turning Xinjiang into a separate Uighur state.
Police spokesman lt. Gen. Prawut Thavornsiri said the charge against the latest suspect is illegal possession of military hardware, based upon finding that he was present in an apartment where such materials were discovered in a police raid.