A suspected Thai Muslim militant was arraigned today on nine charges including treason and murder involving an Islamic insurgency in southern Thailand, one day after Malaysia extradited him.

The charges were read out in Bangkok Criminal Court against Hamzah Mat Saud, also known as Osama, who could face execution if convicted on the most serious counts.

He was remanded in custody for 12 days and denied bail, a court official said, adding that investigators wanted more time to interrogate him.

Only a handful of people have been prosecuted since the near-daily killings began in the mainly Muslim provinces in southern Thailand nearly two years ago.

Hazmah is accused of involvement in the January 2004 raid on a military weapons depot that sparked the unrest in the provinces along the Malaysian border.

Malaysia handed him over to Thai authorities late Thursday in the southern province of Songkhla, officials said, hailing the move as a sign of warming relations with the Muslim-majority southern neighbor.

Hamzah was among 131 Thai Muslims who fled across the border to Malaysia on August 30, citing insecurity and fear of persecution by the Thai government.

Their flight triggered a diplomatic row between Thailand and Malaysia, which insisted that the group should not be forced to return, particularly if their safety could not be assured.

Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra praised the suspect's handover in brief remarks to reporters, saying: "It's good that they have extradited him."

Initial investigation

Justice Minister Chidchai Vanasathidya, on a visit to Narathiwat town, said he had personally interrogated Hamzah in Bangkok about his flight to Malaysia.

"In the initial interrogation, Hamzah said he and the rest of the group escaped to Malaysia because Thailand had declared emergency rule, and also because he wanted to discredit the Thai government by making it seem that Thailand is not a safe place to live," he told reporters.

Chidchai said the government would boost cooperation with Malaysia on border security, and would try to tackle other problems blamed for worsening the violence, including drugs trafficking and smuggling.

"We will integrate our policy to concentrate on solving the drugs problem, which is a major factor in the unrest, and targeting other shadowy figures involved in the violence," he said.

Officials and analysts have blamed the unrest that has left more than 1,000 dead on a volatile mix of Islamic insurgents, local corruption and organized crime.

In the latest violence, a Buddhist couple was killed on Friday by suspected militants in Narathiwat, police said.