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Spaniard accused of compatriot's murder faces death penalty in Thailand
21/04/2017
A SPANIARD has been sentenced to death in Thailand for the alleged murder of a compatriot, and his lawyer says 'there is practically no chance of a positive outcome' for his client.
Artur Segarra (pictured) maintains he is innocent of killing David Bernat, or of holding him hostage in his house in Bangkok for six days, or blackmailing him into giving access to the current account in Singapore where he held his savings.
Segarra, who lived in Iran but frequently visited Thailand, arrived in Bangkok on January 19 last year and met up with Bernat, with whom he was already acquainted as they had often coincided in the Thai capital enjoying the nightlife.
After midnight, they both went to Segarra's rented apartment in the city, and it is alleged that he kept Bernat hostage until January 26, when he was murdered, having plundered his Singaporean bank account in the meantime.
On the night of January 26, Segarra was reported to have been travelling in the direction of the river that crosses the city on his motorbike, carrying a 'large parcel' which police believe was Bernat's body.
He returned in the early hours of January 27 without the parcel.
Some of Bernat's limbs were found on January 30 in the river Chao Phraya, and another six body parts were recovered over the next few days.
Around 40 people were called in for DNA samples, fingerprints and statements, although none were direct witnesses.
CCTV footage and bank statements appeared to point the finger at Segarra.
He was identified as number one suspect on February 5 in a well-known restaurant in Thailand's Surin province, but fled the area.
Two days later, he was arrested in the popular beach tourist city of Sihanoukville on the southern coast of Cambodia.
Segarra repeatedly says: “I didn't kill anyone. I don't know anything.”
Once the verdict is final, he can apply to the Court of Appeal and, as a last resort, the Supreme Court – and if this does not work, can appeal to the Royal Household for a reduction of his sentence, although this would depend upon permission being granted to do so by the State Correctional Department.
Segarra insisted he was the victim of a set-up involving his Thai ex-girlfriend Pridsana Saen-ubon, who testified against him in December.
According to Amnesty International, as at the end of 2016, a total of 427 prisoners were on death row in Thailand, of whom 24 were foreigners.
In 2009, two convicts were executed for drug-trafficking, and on February 7 this year, an Australian was sentenced to death for the murder and dismembering of another person in a similar case to that of David Bernat, and for attempting to destroy evidence.
The last time anyone was executed for murder in Thailand was in 2003, the year in which the south-east Asian country's government substituted the lethal injection for the previous method of prisoner-killing, which involved them being shot at close range.
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A SPANIARD has been sentenced to death in Thailand for the alleged murder of a compatriot, and his lawyer says 'there is practically no chance of a positive outcome' for his client.
Artur Segarra (pictured) maintains he is innocent of killing David Bernat, or of holding him hostage in his house in Bangkok for six days, or blackmailing him into giving access to the current account in Singapore where he held his savings.
Segarra, who lived in Iran but frequently visited Thailand, arrived in Bangkok on January 19 last year and met up with Bernat, with whom he was already acquainted as they had often coincided in the Thai capital enjoying the nightlife.
After midnight, they both went to Segarra's rented apartment in the city, and it is alleged that he kept Bernat hostage until January 26, when he was murdered, having plundered his Singaporean bank account in the meantime.
On the night of January 26, Segarra was reported to have been travelling in the direction of the river that crosses the city on his motorbike, carrying a 'large parcel' which police believe was Bernat's body.
He returned in the early hours of January 27 without the parcel.
Some of Bernat's limbs were found on January 30 in the river Chao Phraya, and another six body parts were recovered over the next few days.
Around 40 people were called in for DNA samples, fingerprints and statements, although none were direct witnesses.
CCTV footage and bank statements appeared to point the finger at Segarra.
He was identified as number one suspect on February 5 in a well-known restaurant in Thailand's Surin province, but fled the area.
Two days later, he was arrested in the popular beach tourist city of Sihanoukville on the southern coast of Cambodia.
Segarra repeatedly says: “I didn't kill anyone. I don't know anything.”
Once the verdict is final, he can apply to the Court of Appeal and, as a last resort, the Supreme Court – and if this does not work, can appeal to the Royal Household for a reduction of his sentence, although this would depend upon permission being granted to do so by the State Correctional Department.
Segarra insisted he was the victim of a set-up involving his Thai ex-girlfriend Pridsana Saen-ubon, who testified against him in December.
According to Amnesty International, as at the end of 2016, a total of 427 prisoners were on death row in Thailand, of whom 24 were foreigners.
In 2009, two convicts were executed for drug-trafficking, and on February 7 this year, an Australian was sentenced to death for the murder and dismembering of another person in a similar case to that of David Bernat, and for attempting to destroy evidence.
The last time anyone was executed for murder in Thailand was in 2003, the year in which the south-east Asian country's government substituted the lethal injection for the previous method of prisoner-killing, which involved them being shot at close range.
Related Topics
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