London, Jan 6 (IANS) The hacking collective Anonymous has declared war on the Thai police, taking down multiple websites in protest against the conviction of two Burmese men convicted of killing a British couple last year.
The cyber activist group posted links to 15 Thai police websites, including the Bangkok Metropolitan Police Bureau, and published several Thai police email addresses, asking its members to hack them, The Guardian reported on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, seven of the websites were down and two links showed a black screen with "Failed Law. We want Justice. #BoycottThailand", written in white text.
The links also showed Anonymouss signature mask, a white stylised Guy Fawkes face, under text saying Blink hacker group.
Migrant bar workers Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo were sentenced to death on December 24, 2015, for the rape and murder of Hannah Witheridge, 23, from Norfolk, and the murder of 24-year-old David Miller, from Jersey, in September 2014 on Koh Tao island.
The case drew the attention of rights groups who warned that migrants had previously been falsely accused of crimes in Thailand. The pair initially confessed to the murder but later rescinded their statements, saying they had been tortured by police to admit to the brutal beach attack.
The police, who deny any wrongdoing, were also accused by the defence team of mishandling crucial DNA evidence.
In a 37-minute video posted on its Facebook page, Anonymous said the Thai police would rather blame foreigners or migrants for such crimes so as to protect their tourism industry than accuse their own Thai locals, that may deter tourists from choosing Thailand as their holiday destination".
