5 Islamic Teachers Accused of Treason

Five Islamic teachers suspected of being key figures in a separatist insurgency in Thailand’s Muslim-dominated south have been charged with treason, security officials said.

Four suspects were arrested this week, but the fifth suspect fled during a raid and has been charged in absentia, said Gen. Sirichai Thanyasiri, the regional security commander. The suspects face a maximum penalty of death if found guilty.

More than 550 people have been killed in an explosion of violence this year. Officials in the Buddhist-dominated country have blamed the bloodshed on the resurgence of a separatist movement that had subsided after a government amnesty in the 1980s.