This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The hacking collective Anonymous has declared war on the Thai police, taking down multiple websites in protest against what it said was the scapegoating of two Burmese men convicting of killing two British backpackers on Koh Tao island.

The cyber activist group posted links to 15 Thai police websites, including the Bangkok Metropolitan Police Bureau, and published several Thai police email addresses, asking its members to hack them.

On Wednesday, seven of the websites were down and two links showed a black screen with “Failed Law. We want Justice. #BoycottThailand” written in white text.

The links also showed Anonymous’s signature mask, a white stylised Guy Fawkes face, under text saying “Blink hacker group”. Anonymous is a loose international network and works with multiple hacking organisations.

British backpacker murder case that put Thailand on trial Read more

Migrant bar workers Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo were sentenced to death on 24 December for the rape and murder of Hannah Witheridge, 23, from Norfolk, and the murder of 24-year-old David Miller, from Jersey, in September 2014.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Wai Phyo, left, and Zaw Lin are escorted by a Thai police officer after they were sentenced to death at the Samui provincial court, on Koh Samui Island, on 24 December. Photograph: Rungroj Yongrit/EPA

The case drew the attention of rights groups who warned that migrants had previously been falsely accused of crimes in Thailand. The pair initially confessed to the murder but later rescinded their statements, saying they had been tortured by police to admit to the brutal beach attack.

The police, who deny any wrongdoing, were also accused by the defence team of mishandling crucial DNA evidence.

In a 37-minute video posted on its Facebook page, Anonymous said the Thai police “would rather blame foreigners or migrants for such crimes so as to protect their tourism industry than accuse their own Thai locals, that may deter tourists from choosing Thailand as their holiday destination”.

It cited past murder cases in Thailand involving foreigners in which Thai police first accused non-Thais who were later acquitted.

“Anonymous has found that Thai police, lie, fabricate evidence, do poor police investigating, contaminate crime scenes, loose DNA and evidence, accuse non-Thai nationals” and “refuse to believe that their own Thai locals are responsible for any wrongdoing”, a masked figure said in the video.

“We do not like the facts in this recent Koh Tao case and we do not believe the Thai court has convicted the actual murderers,” the figure said, speaking in a digitised voice.

It added that Anonymous dissuades foreigners from visiting the south-east Asian nation until “Thai police make many changes in the way they handle rape and murder cases involving foreigners or migrants and show more respect to deceased victims.”

Police spokesman Dechnarong Suticharnbancha told the local Khaosod news website that the police were working to track down the hackers.

“Even if the source of attack was from abroad, they will be convicted eventually,” he said. “It’s not a problem. Thai police are excellent.”

The defence team plans to apply to the appeals court to commute the sentence and, if they are unsuccessful, can take their case to the supreme court. The verdict sparked protests outside the Thai embassy in the Myanmar city of Yangon.

Miller’s family said after the sentencing they believed the police investigation and forensic work “was not the so-called shambles it was made out to be” and said justice was delivered.

The Witheridge family neither supported nor condemned the sentencing. They said in a statement at the time: “We have had to endure a lot of painful and confusing information. We now need time, as a family, to digest the outcome of the trial and figure out the most appropriate way to tell our story.”