The team’s statement released yesterday said that the pro-bono lawyers under the Lawyers Council of Thailand would submit next Monday a 200-page appeal against the conviction of Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo in December last year.

The court found them guilty of murdering two British backpackers – David Miller, 24, and raping and killing Hannah Witheridge, 23 – on the paradise island popular among foreign tourists.

The mothers of the two convicts – May Thein and Phyu Shwe Nu – will travel from Rakhine state in Myanmar and be present to lodge the appeal. They will also visit their sons in Bang Kwang Central Prison in Bangkok where the convicts have been detained since January.

The appeal was the work of a core team of seven Thai lawyers supported by Burmese, Australian and British translators, assistants and advisers throughout the five months to ensure a fair trial and adequate defence for the two convicts.

Many rights groups believed the two were made scapegoats, as the Thai police wanted to speedily finish the investigation.