Thailand 'Bomb Plot': Iranian Denies Charges

Sky News

An Iranian man who lost his legs in an alleged botched bomb plot in Thailand has said 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 blowing 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 against its diplomats.

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.

He did not mention the fourth device.

Prosecutors have accused Moradi of throwing 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 has given 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 media 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.