Thailand charged eight Muslim male teachers on Friday of treason for masterminding violence which has killed more than 600 people in the restive, predominantly Muslim south since January last year. If found guilty, the men, who were arrested last year and have been described by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra as "significant ringleaders", face death by lethal injection. A prosecutor's statement read out by the judge at the start of the trial said the teachers belonged to the outlawed Barasi Revolusi Nasional separatist group, and had taught youths to attack soldiers with guns and bombs, steal weapons from them, and burn schools.
"They have ambushed officials, killed monks, teachers and students, set fire to schools and other government buildings, and stolen weapons," the judge said.
The defendants, aged from the late 30s to early 50s, deny all the charges.
Thailand's Muslim south, once an independent sultanate that covered most of the three southernmost provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala, has a 100-year history of opposition to rule from Bangkok.
It was home to a low-key separatist insurgency in the 1970s and 1980s.
The government says Muslim boarding schools are breeding grounds for militants, a charge denied by clerics in the region.
The court has denied bail to the eight men facing treason charges. The trial, which is expected to hear testimony from 120 witnesses from both sides, is expected to last several years. The first hearing of witness has been set for October 11.