A delegation of Burmese embassy officials visited Zaw Linn and Win Zaw Oo in Bang Kwang Central Prison in Bangkok on Thursday.

The two Arakanese youths were sentenced to death in December last year by a Thai court after they were found guilty of rape and the murder of two British holidaymakers on popular island resort of Koh Tao.

The pair are currently awaiting a verdict on their appeal from Thailand’s high court.

Led by counsellor Win Sandi Kyaw, the embassy delegation reported that Zaw Linn and Win Zaw Oo were in good health.

“We went to see them in Bang Kwang around 8:30am and left around 11am – both were in good health with a high morale,” said embassy delegate Aung Myo Thant.

“They expressed their gratitude to the public and the media for following the case and giving them encouragement.”

The two told the delegation they had been treated fairly in prison and allowed to study English. They also asked the team to bring them Burmese novels.

Aung Myo Thant said they expect a verdict on the appeal from Koh Samui Province Court at the beginning of 2017.

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Zaw Linn and Win Zaw Oo were migrant workers on Koh Tao in September 2014 when they were accused of murdering British tourists David Miller and Hannah Witheridge, and raping the latter. They initially confessed to committing the crime, but later retracted their statement, claiming they were coerced under torture by the local police.

The Koh Samui court in December found the pair guilty of both charges and sentenced them to death. The decision was met with angry protests in Burma, forcing the Thai embassy in Rangoon to shut down for two weeks.