Attorney-General Julasing Wasantasing said yesterday that he would come up with a decision by next Thursday on whether or not to indict the five foreigners who flew into Bangkok on a weapons-loaded aircraft.
Julasing's decision is crucial because it could either set them free or have them handed over to face prosecution in their country of origin.
Julasing said he had acknowledged the request made by the government to have the five men sent back to Kazakhstan and Belarus, but he would not say if the two countries or the Thai Foreign Ministry had officially approached him about the matter. According to the law, suspects can be detained for the statutory 12-day period no more than seven times, and the fifth session of the five suspects' detention ends next Thursday.
The attorney-general also explained that the repatriation of the suspects, if or when possible, could not be considered extradition because the case did not fit the legal criteria of extradition.
A senior public prosecutor said the Foreign Ministry had not yet contacted the Office of Attorney-General and that he did not know how the suspects would be repatriated once Julasing makes a decision on the issue.
Sirisak Tiyaphan, director-general of the OAG's International Affairs Department, said legal procedure could only be launched after the Foreign Ministry sends in an official request.
"All I know is that Julasing will be making a crucial decision on the case, and we are waiting for information and request from the Foreign Ministry," he added.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had said earlier that both countries had requested that the suspects be handed over to face prosecution in their own countries. The pilot of the plane is a Belarussian and the four crew members hail from Kazakhstan.
