Some 2000 Myanmar protesters rally at Mae Sai border checkpoint

He said soldiers would meet Myanmar workers on the Thai side on Monday to explain the judicial process concerning the murder case – the death sentences to two Myanmar migrant workers found guilty of murdering two British tourists on Koh Tao island in southern Thailand in September previous year.

In a New Year message to Thai Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, Myanmar’s Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing requested that evidence in the case be reviewed.

They also accused the police of torturing their clients into signing confessions, which they later retracted.

The killings dented Thailand’s image as a easy-going tourist haven and raised questions about police competency.

Thai-Myanmar business and trade across the border in Mae Sot district of Tak province continued as usual on Sunday despite a small group of Myanmar people showing up at the crossing to protest the Koh Tao ruling.

Meanwhile, a Thai diplomat in Yangon has promised Myanmar protestors that their demand for appeal to the Thai king would be conveyed as soon as possible following demonstrations here against the Thai court’s death sentences. The verdict followed a trial that saw prosecutors build much of their case around DNA evidence that police said linked the two migrant workers to the crime. It was reopened after the Myanmar protesters dispersed.

“We reaffirm that our investigation was done transparently and was in compliance with worldwide standards”, national spokesman Police General Dejnarong Suthichanbancha told reporters.

The four also alleged that they were tortured, a claim the police have denied.

However Thai authorities have received an endorsement from Miller’s family who backed the verdict, saying they believed the evidence against the two accused was “overwhelming”.

Thailand, which has more than 450 prisoners on death row, has not executed anyone since 2009.