A Thai court has recently acquitted 67 individuals accused of terrorism charges linked to 2008 protests, which led to the shutdown of two airports. The protests were spearheaded by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), in defiance of the government at that time, led by allies of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The adjudication took place at the Bangkok Criminal Court, detailed in a 51-page ruling delivered around 10:00AM local time. According to the court, the protests were not in violation of the Constitution, endorsing the right of a group of people to assemble peacefully without causing chaos and carrying weapons. The 2008 protestors were judged to be non-violent and unarmed, making their gathering constitutionally sanctioned. In addition, the court ruled that no security offenses were committed under the Criminal Code regarding terrorism, banditry, or trespassing, nor crimes of engaging in fight, impeding, detaining, and restraining police and security guards.
The protests at the centre of this lawsuit occurred in 2008 when PAD, widely known as the Yellow Shirts, arranged large assemblies at Don Mueang and Subarnabhumi airports. Protestors wore yellow shirts to display their allegiance to the Thai government and dissent against the then-ruling government, loyal to Thaksin. The Yellow Shirts, in Thaksin’s reign, had formerly protested against him, accusing him of corruption and disrespecting the monarchy.
Panthep Puapongpan, a former spokesperson of PAD and now a defendant in the case, issued a summary of the acquittal via Facebook. He welcomed the court’s decision, which has been under consideration in the court system for over a decade. He acknowledged that some defendants were moved to tears in reaction to the ruling.
This is the second lawsuit related to the 2008 demonstrations due to the large number of persons involved. The case was initially slowed due to the high volume of defendants and was, therefore, split into two separate cases of 31 defendants and 67 defendants. The first batch of defendants were acquitted in January, though some were fined for violating an emergency decree prohibiting public gatherings at the time.
You can read the full story here.