Thai court drops murder charge against ex-PM Abhisit

[Necron99]

Bangkok (AFP) - A Thai court on Thursday dismissed charges of murder and abuse of power against former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his ex-deputy over a bloody crackdown on opposition protests in 2010.

Scores of demonstrators died under Abhisit's establishment-backed government in street clashes between mostly unarmed "Red Shirt" demonstrators and security forces firing live rounds in Bangkok.

A criminal court in the capital ruled that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the case because Abhisit and his then-deputy Suthep Thaugsuban were holders of public office at the time and acting under an emergency decree.



It said the only court with the authority to consider the allegations was the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions.

"So the criminal court decided today to dismiss the two charges," a judge said.

The surprise ruling comes three months after the military seized power from Abhisit's political rivals in a bloodless coup.

Army chief General Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who was last week picked as prime minister of the Southeast Asian nation by a junta-appointed legislature, is often described as the architect of the 2010 crackdown.


morre....

[sabang]

Nice handbag that monk is carrying.

[nidhogg]

The surprise ruling comes three months after the military seized power from Abhisit's political rivals in a bloodless coup.

Surprise ruling? Surprising to whom exactly?

[BaitongBoy]

All the bad guys have broken arms...

[thaimeme]

The surprise ruling comes three months after the military seized power from Abhisit's political rivals in a bloodless coup.

Surprise ruling? Surprising to whom exactly?

Indeed...
Perhaps the news source is attempting to be fancifully subjective.

Should've read: The expected ruling....

[thaimeme]

Nice handbag that monk is carrying.

Must be nice being a revered monk.

[tomta]

Interesting but predictable that Abhisit and Suthep got off on a point of law. But , really, no proper court anywhere could have convicted them on this. Not because they are innocent - they may be as guilty as sin. But because the DSI (no doubt with Thaksin intriguing somewhere behind it) first of all absolved the army of any potential charges saying that they were only following orders. To get the army on side. That backfired bigtime.

But without nailing down the army as the link between the killings and orders coming from the Committee to Resolve the Emergency Situation (CRES) the prosecution would have to fail in any proper court of law. The army has consistently denied killing or even wounding anyone in 2010, not even a scratch, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. The Yingluck government (and Thaksin) should have kept the blow torch on their genitalia over this. But they were let off the hook and given a free pass. And so we have today's situation.

Where they can get away with anything.