Thai prosecutors have continued efforts to delay their filing of a rebuttal to an appeal submitted by the legal team of two Burmese defendants in a high-profile, trans-national murder case that has dragged on for more than three years.

A legal adviser at the Burmese embassy in Bangkok told DVB that the prosecution team had requested yet another extension – this time until 23 January 2018.

Two men from Burma convicted of killing two British backpackers on a Thai holiday island in 2014 submitted their final appeal on Monday against the death sentence.

A Burmese legal team has compiled a document outlining what it says was Thai investigators’ mishandling of evidence in the case of a 2014 double murder on the resort island of Koh Tao that was pinned on two Burmese migrant workers now facing death row.

Andy Hall, a migrant rights activist assisting the defence team, said the main thrust of the appeal relates to issues with the forensic evidence.

As testimonies conclude, Win Zaw Htun claims he was sexually abused by Thai police officers and forced to confess.