JAN 11, 2019 — Dear Friends,
I know that you have received two updates from this platform already this year but just after sending the update of 4 January 2019 I received THREE letters from Zaw Lin, which also contained requests as well as the magic words “thank you”. Given that the young man is languishing on death row it is difficult to deny him a simple request or two - especially when he is constantly expressing his appreciation for what people do for him.
Over the last couple of years I have received several letters from Zaw Lin in which he asks me to do whatever I can to help him and Wai Phyo and in which he asks me to post his letters on the internet and advise him about how many people read them.
I promptly post copies of his letters on my small Twitter account @IanYarwood_Law so I won’t reprint full copies on this platform. However, I just received an 8 page letter in which he gives his account of what he saw and did on 14 & 15 September 2014, being the approximate time that Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were murdered.
Virtually all that detail was published in the Samui Times from an almost identical letter he wrote nearly a year ago. Here is the link:
“Man convicted of notorious 2014 KohTao British Backpacker murders speaks out from death row”
In this brief update, I am delighted to report that Zaw Lin advised that he has received almost 1,000 cards from around the world over the past four years and he said that: “it made me much pleasure to know they are thinking of me.” All those cards also send a very clear and important message to the Thai authorities that people around the world support him and Wai Phyo.
In another letter, Zaw Lin said: “I am so boring to living in prison, I sometimes goes on crazy, I just wanted I could fly like bird from this hell. I wrote to you all that happened that night and how police did to me, I hope there will be something that you can do to help me.”
The new YouTube music video about Koh Tao murders and the plight of Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo continues to gather more views. This is important because, amongst other things, the extra views mean that it will rank higher in YouTube whenever someone types in a search such as “Koh Tao”, which means that many young travellers will get at least some sort of a warning in a short song.
If you have not done so yet, please, PLEASE view and share today. THANK YOU to all of you who have already done so! The link again:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWLaPiiNx8o
Thank you once again.
Ian Yarwood
Solicitor
Perth – Western Australia
POST SCRIPT:
Should any of you wish to write to the two young men to remind them that they are not forgotten, their current addresses and details are as follows:
Wai Phyo (590018) & Zaw Lin (590082)
Building 2
Bangkwang Central Prison
117 Nonthaburi Road
NONTHABURI 11000
THAILAND