Thailand opens 'JI' trial

The four men are accused of planning to bomb foreign embassies

Four Thai Muslims accused of belonging to the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) militant group have gone on trial accused of planning a series of bombings.

They are alleged to have conspired with a Singaporean to attack the embassies of Australia, Britain, Israel, Singapore and the United States.

They are also accused of planning attacks on popular tourist destinations in Thailand.

JI has been blamed for last year's Bali bombings and several other attacks.

Three of the men, Islamic teacher Maisuri Haji Abdullah, his son Mayahi Haji Doloh, and a doctor, Waemahadi Wae-dao, were arrested in June in the southern province of Narathiwat, which has a Muslim majority.

The fourth man, Samarn Wakaji, surrendered in early July.

The Thai authorities have also requested the extradition of the Singaporean man, Arafin bin Ali, who could also be put on trial.

He was repatriated after being arrested in Thailand in May, and is currently being held under Singapore's Internal Security Act.

He is alleged to be a senior member of the Singaporean wing of JI, which some governments say is the South East Asian arm of Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

The four Thai Muslims have pleaded not guilty at earlier hearings to any associations with JI.

But police say that Abdullah and his son Doloh admitted belonging to the organisation and confessed to the bomb plots.

They also say that Wae-dao confessed to providing fake passports to JI members.

Their alleged bomb plot drew attention to Thailand as a potential target for Islamic militants.

As well as the foreign embassies, the targets are alleged to have included Bangkok's red light district, and the tourist resorts of Pattaya and Phuket.