Qualla: 2015 Bangkok Bombing

2015 Bangkok Bombing: Introduction

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Erawan Shrine sits at one of Bangkok's busiest intersections, a small Hindu shrine to Brahma wedged between luxury hotels and elevated train tracks at Ratchaprasong. Every evening, tourists and Thai worshippers crowd the platform to offer flowers, incense, and prayers. On August 17, 2015, at roughly 7 p.m., a man in a yellow T-shirt left a backpack near the shrine's railing. CCTV footage captured him walking calmly away. Moments later, the bomb inside detonated, sending shrapnel through the crowd. Twenty people died. One hundred and twenty-five were wounded. Most of the dead were tourists who had come to pray.

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2015 Bangkok Bombing: A Sacred Place Shattered

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Erawan Shrine holds a peculiar position in Bangkok's spiritual geography. Though Hindu in origin, honoring the four-faced Brahma, it draws Buddhist worshippers, Chinese tourists, and visitors of every faith who come to make wishes and watch the resident dance troupe perform. ...

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2015 Bangkok Bombing: The Man in the Yellow Shirt

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Thai police released CCTV footage showing the suspected bomber, a man in a yellow T-shirt who left a backpack at the shrine and walked away before the explosion. A taxi driver who picked him up afterward described a passenger who "seemed calm, like a regular customer, and not Tha...

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2015 Bangkok Bombing: A Web of Passports

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

On August 29, police arrested a twenty-eight-year-old man in a Bangkok apartment. He was not believed to be the bomber himself, but his residence contained extraordinary evidence: a fake Turkish passport, at least eleven additional Turkish passports, more than two hundred passpor...

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2015 Bangkok Bombing: Deportation and Retaliation

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In July 2015, one month before the bombing, the Thai government had deported more than a hundred Uyghur Muslims back to China, a decision condemned by international human rights organizations and the United States government. The deportation infuriated many Turks, and the Thai co...

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2015 Bangkok Bombing: Justice in Slow Motion

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Adem Karadag was identified as the bomber on September 26, 2015, based on his confession and other evidence. In February 2016, he retracted that confession through his lawyer, who alleged it was obtained through torture. His co-defendant, Mieraili Yusufu, also denied the charges....

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