A small group of officials, briefcase-toting lawyers, and a couple of Western observers with a somber look were summoned to ascend the stairs of the Samui Provincial Court early Thursday morning (it was five o’clock in Spain). The cement courthouse sits at the foot of a colorful valley, ringed by trees that sway in the damp breeze that signals the sudden, lively monsoon rains of Southeast Asia. A whirl of activity would define the day, with dozens of journalists arriving from Spain to cover both the high-profile ruling and the arrival of the defendant, Daniel Sancho, his legal team, and his family. This would not close the judicial chapter, but it would set a landmark that higher authorities in Thailand rarely depart from.
It is D-day for Daniel Sancho, the aspiring chef and diligent YouTuber, son and grandson of famous actors, held in provisional detention since August for the death of Edwin Arrieta, a Colombian surgeon, on the nearby Panghan island. The range of possible outcomes stretched from an acquittal on self-defense to the death penalty for premeditated murder. The sentence would decide where he would serve time, a matter as consequential in Thailand as the length of confinement itself, and what might happen upon his return to Spain.
A long morning looms. The full reading of the judgment, including a Spanish translation, could stretch up to three hours, according to the parties involved. The proceedings would touch on personal privacy. The defendant, his parents, the lawyers, the prosecutor, and representatives of the embassy were summoned. The press, in keeping with custom, would remain downstairs.
The parties’ ambitions point to further battles. There are avenues for appeal against the decision first to the Court of Appeals and then to the Supreme Court. Ramon Chipirrás, the defense attorney, has so far avoided addressing the issue directly. Metapon Suwanchare, the prosecutor, estimates a possible range of one to three years should the matter reach the Supreme Court. The newsroom archive suggests a shorter timeline overall. Artur Segarra, a Catalan convicted of a murder and dismemberment elsewhere, had his appeals rejected in just over a year. In any case, it is rare for higher courts to overturn core elements of the original judgment.
The length of the sentence will also determine Sancho’s fate in prison. If the penalty exceeds 15 years, he would leave the Samui facility, known for its relatively humane and supportive environment where yoga and Muay Thai are practiced, including a hospital wing that has earned praise for treating a reported injury that appears at odds with daily martial arts training.
If the sentence goes beyond 25 years, his transfer would likely be to the Surat Thani or Nakhon Si Thammarat prisons, where inmate populations are ten times larger than Samui’s but still far from Bangkok’s grimmer facilities. In Bang Kwang, nicknamed the Great Tiger for the way it swallows its inmates, Artur Segarra remains after his transfer there a few days into his sentence. The chances of ending up in one of the world’s most feared prisons are slim, according to the lawyers, especially after months of public discussion. In Thailand, the broad discretionary latitude surrounding inmate transfers makes predictions uncertain.
Returning to Spain is a priority for Sancho and his team. Police promises of an early transfer and other assurances had supported his initial confessions during the trial. Now the realization hinges on meeting the conditions set forth in the extradition treaty between Spain and Thailand. A death sentence would block such a transfer. For any term of imprisonment, four years must be served before a transfer request can be considered and only with consent from both governments. There remains the requirement to compensate the victim’s family as determined by the sentence. Prosecutors have asked for 30 million bats, roughly 800,000 euros. That is a hefty sum by local standards, calculated on the premise of a surgeon who supported his dependents.
All that noise will begin to settle once the verdict is issued. Leading up to the decision, Metapon, the prosecutor, faced a flurry of interviews in a nearby café, insisting that a post on social media hinting at a death sentence was merely a mistake and that the outcome remained unknown. Juan Gonzalo Ospina, his chief, spread theories across television sets without substantiating proof. The family’s pro bono lawyer attended the process with hopes of public acknowledgment and a favorable verdict, while the risk of the court not establishing premeditation in one of Thailand’s most debated legal cases continued to loom. The anxiety around whether the tribunal would definitively certify premeditation helped fuel tensions and a less-than-ideal sense of sportsmanship among some observers.
[End of passage] [Citation noted: ongoing Spanish-language coverage from multiple outlets.]