Iranian suspect tells Thai court 'stunned' to find bombs

BANGKOK, April 26, 2013 (AFP) - An Iranian man whose legs were blown off during an alleged botched bomb plot last year against Israeli diplomats in Bangkok said Friday he found the explosives and was trying to dispose of them safely when they detonated.

Saeid Moradi, 29, told a Bangkok court that he was about to leave Thailand when he found four bombs hidden inside radios in a cupboard at a rented house in the city.

Two of the devices exploded as he ran into the street to throw them into a nearby canal -- the second tearing off his legs, he said.

Moradi and Mohammad Khazaei, 42, are among five Iranians suspected of involvement in the February 2012 blasts that followed attacks in India and Georgia and saw Tehran accused by Israel of a terror campaign.

Giving his evidence first, the younger defendant said he accidentally triggered one of the bombs when he opened a cupboard in the apartment.

"I was stunned and threw it into the corner, believing it was a smoke bomb," the wheelchair-bound suspect said via a translator, adding he grabbed two other bombs and ran outside to throw them into a nearby canal.

He did not refer to the fourth device.

Prosecutors accuse Moradi of hurling one bomb at a taxi and a second at two police officers as they approached him on the street, but it instead detonated near the suspect.

The defendant gave a different version of events saying he dropped one of the devices near the taxi by mistake, and tried to throw the other away as the policemen approached fearing it would detonate and hurt them.

"I knew if the police stopped me I'd have to drop the bomb which may have endangered them and people nearby.

"So I threw it about a metre in front of me," he said, adding he blacked out and woke up at hospital later to find his legs had been torn off in the blast.

Fellow defendant Khazaei, who smiled and gave a two-finger victory sign to the waiting press as he arrived from prison for the hearing, is due to give testimony after his alleged accomplice.

The pair have already pleaded not guilty to charges including attempted murder and possessing explosives.

"The penalty for attempted murder and possessing explosives... will probably be quite severe but we will fight every charge," their lawyer Kittipong Kiattanapoom told reporters earlier outside the court.

In June last year a Malaysian court ordered the extradition to Thailand of another of the Iranian suspects, Masoud Sedaghatzadeh.

Sedaghatzadeh was arrested at Kuala Lumpur's international airport a day after the Bangkok blasts. Two other suspects are believed to have returned to Iran.

The trial continues.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2013-04-26

"Two of the devices exploded as he ran into the street to throw them into a nearby canal"

Just bad timing that the police got in the way as he was aiming for the canal.

Quote - "The penalty for attempted murder and possessing explosives... will probably be quite severe

I say probably because if you are the son of a Deputy Prime minister or an energy drinks heir it probably wouldn't be.

Amazing Story

Thai police are always targeted even in a court of law.

As long as they can roam around freely these [fill in religion] terrorists publish one video message after the other and threaten a "sea of blood", "death to all infidels" and "eternal jihad" but once they get caught they start grovelling and come up with the most lame and pathetic excuses to deny any involvement.

Why don't you little rats have the balls to stand firmly to your jihadist enterprises?

Even if they get convicted - as their defense is just too stupid - they will be released on bail and put on the next flight to Teheran. The relations between Thailand and Iran are more important than having some Iranian terrorists rotting in the Bangkok Hilton.

"Two of the devices exploded as he ran into the street to throw them into a nearby canal"

Just bad timing that the police got in the way as he was aiming for the canal.

To quote John Wayne “Life's hard. It's even harder when you're stupid.”

"he grabbed two other bombs and ran outside to throw them into a nearby canal."

Can't have been that close given that he tried to run out to the main road and catch a taxi.

Didn't he also throw one at the taxi cab that would not take him where he wanted to go?

What a bunch of BS that story is. If they hooked that guy up to a lie detector he would probably break it, what a sorry assed story this is.

I reckon they will be convicted and Iran will continue to claim no involvement in the affair. I see no issue in this with Thai-Iranian relations. Like they care about a couple of low level operatives.

Well come on you lot, can you come up with a better story. ...............

"he grabbed two other bombs and ran outside to throw them into a nearby canal."

Can't have been that close given that he tried to run out to the main road and catch a taxi.

I wonder why he didn't just run outside WITHOUT the bombs to flee to safety...duh

Can the double his sentence for inept lying?

Strange days indeed, my cupboard is full of empties.

maybe he should have used the old " my tire blew out excuse" this works for bus drivers after a crash involving several deaths

''The defendant gave a different version of events saying he dropped one of the devices near the taxi by mistake''

Well, that would explain it, Colombo would surely reply....

This guy has been in Thailand too long.

He's obviously been reading some of the excuses the wealthy in this country have used to escape punishment and thought why can't I?

This happened just outside of my daughters school and this lowlife piece of pig excreta insults us by thinking we are stupid enough to believe it. Shows what fools he really thinks the citizens of Thailand really are. I really hope the explosion took his b*lls so the pr*ck will never be able to reproduce offspring of equally low ethics and intelligence again.

This guy is an innocent as a politician,

Having ones legs blown off does rather mess up an escape plan, wonder what the legs are doing with those 47 (or however many) virgins ?

He could walk away from this if he keeps lying.

Though he is legless.

It is unbelievable that state sponsored terrorists can frolic in Thailand attacking Thai citizens and the government takes no action against the foreign state. Not even a word of protest. Is it any wonder then that the southern insurgency can so easily obtain support from outside sources?

When the Iranians sent agents to Canada to spy on and harass dissidents and to allegedly engage in other unacceptable acts, the Canadian government responded. Canada closed its embassy in Iran, and declared personae non gratae all remaining Iranian diplomats in Canada. And yet, the response in Thailand is to carry on as if nothing happened.

The lack of response from Thailand speaks volumes. Thailand says it wants to make a place for itself on the world stage. With this response, Thailand sets itself up to be seen as a pushover where anything goes. This is one of PM Yingluck's biggest mistakes in foreign relations and if the powers that be think keeping quiet will get them cheap oil or some customers for rice, they are mistaken. A serious miscalculation that will cost Thailand in the long run.

Probably a reflection of the competence of both the PM and Foreign Minister.

But ... the guy hopping out of the police van giving a V sign kinda contradicts the legless hero's claims!!! Like the smiling bomber in Bali, the V man has no remorse, so despatch him immediately, but the legless guy should spend time (about a lifetime) thinking about how stupid he really is. Footnote - love to see how he handles the squat starting block toilet in the Bangkok Hilton.

What about the Iranian woman who rented the house where the bombs were made and/or kept? No chance of her getting extradited from Iran to face trial. It smells like Iran officialdom has its fingers in this imbroglio - and that would explain why Iran is so eager to have it all get swept under the Persian carpet and forgotten about.

"he grabbed two other bombs and ran outside to throw them into a nearby canal."

Can't have been that close given that he tried to run out to the main road and catch a taxi.

I wonder why he didn't just run outside WITHOUT the bombs to flee to safety...duh

Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb

As long as they can roam around freely these [fill in religion] terrorists publish one video message after the other and threaten a "sea of blood", "death to all infidels" and "eternal jihad" but once they get caught they start grovelling and come up with the most lame and pathetic excuses to deny any involvement.

Why don't you little rats have the balls to stand firmly to your jihadist enterprises?

Even if they get convicted - as their defense is just too stupid - they will be released on bail and put on the next flight to Teheran. The relations between Thailand and Iran are more important than having some Iranian terrorists rotting in the Bangkok Hilton.

Innocent until PROVEN guilty.

Iranian suspect tells Thai court 'stunned' to find bombs

Enough already with these lame excuses.

Iranian suspect tells Thai court 'stunned' to find bombs

Enough already with these lame excuses.

It's a new concept: the INANITY defense ...

One had always supposed it was illegal for Iranians, being devoutly religious, to tell porkies.