Appeals Court drops alleged unlawful 2010 military crackdown case against Abhisit and Suthep

[webfact]

Appeals Court drops alleged unlawful 2010 military crackdown case against former premier and deputy



BANGKOK: -- The Appeals Court today dropped the case against former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his former deputy Suthep Thaugsuban brought against them for the deadly Military crackdown of red-shirt protesters in 2010.

The ruling by the second court was seen as to uphold earlier ruling by the first court or the Criminal Court which had in August 2014 rejected to proceed the trial of the two persons with reason that it had no jurisdiction to handle the case.

Both Mr Abhisit and Mr Suthep were charged by the Office of the Attorney-General on the recommendation of the Department of Special Investigation with murder and attempted murder in the 2010 military crackdown on the red-shirt protesters under the leadership of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD).

The prosecution appealed ruling by the first court.

At today’s hearing which Mr Abhisit and Mr Suthep were present along with relatives of victims killed in the crackdown, the Appeals Court shared the same reason given by the Criminal Court that it also had no jurisdiction to handle the trial.

The Appeals Court reasoned that Mr Abhisit and Mr Suthep issued the crackdown order in their capacity as prime minister and deputy prime minister in charge of the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) in order to restore peace and order in the country.

Therefore they issued crackdown orders not as individuals but as authorised officials empowered by laws.

Therefore their orders were lawful and were not considered power abuses as they were charged

The court then said that the National Anti Corruption Commission should handle the investigation of the case when power abuses were alleged to be involved, and not the Department of Special Investigation which has no authority.

It said the trial should then be referred to the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions instead as earlier ruled by the first court.

After hearing the ruling, Mr Abhisit said the case was not yet final, as he did not know whether the prosecution would take it to the Supreme Court.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/151298


-- Thai PBS 2016-02-17

[MZurf]

What a shocker!!!

[Laughing Gravy]

What a shock. I wasn't expecting that one.

[mrrizzla]

"Ran into the bullets"

[robblok]

What a shocker!!!

But the reasoning is sound, they were not private persons they were government employees. Just a fail by whoever filed the charge.

We also know why the chargers were filed.. to make the amnesty for Thaksin possible.. he thought to blackmail them into supporting the amnesty.

Edited February 17, 2016 by robblok

[DM07]

Surprise!

Edited February 17, 2016 by DM07

[djjamie]

Reasonable outcome which should come as no surprise when looking at justification was to "restore peace and order in the country" When one looks at what the UDD element did before a single bullet was fired by the military to squash the uprising one can understand that peace and order was already spiralling out of control and would have kept getting worse had the military not stepped in. Harsh words, tear gas and rubber bullets certainly didn't work and the lethargy of the govt in fact made the UDD element more brazen,

When looking at the violence perpetrated by the UDD before a single bullet was fired one could surmise that Ahbisit and Suthep should answer as to why they did not react sooner and harder to the violence instead of letting it spiral out of control to the point they did.

Anyway, a just and reasonable outcome in this instance. Well done to them both.

Edited February 17, 2016 by djjamie

[webfact]

Appeals Court Rejects Murder Case Against Abhisit, Suthep
Chayanit Itthipongmaetee


Former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, head of the Democrat Party speaks to reporters Wednesday at the Appeals Court in Bangkok.

BANGKOK — Former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his former deputy Suthep Thaugsuban will not face charges of murder stemming from a 2010 military crackdown on Redshirt demonstrators after the Appeals Court today upheld a lower court's decision not to hear the case.

The court upheld a 2014 decision by the Criminal Court to dimiss the charges, saying it was the wrong venue for the case because when Abhisit and Suthep authorized the order, which sent soldiers to clear the streets and left at least 20 people dead, they did so in their legal capacity as officials in charge of managing the crisis.

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1455696033


-- Khaosod English 2016-02-17

[hanuman2543]

Reasonable outcome which should come as no surprise when looking at justification was to "restore peace and order in the country" When one looks at what the UDD element did before a single bullet was fired by the military to squash the uprising one can understand that peace and order was already spiralling out of control and would have kept getting worse had the military not stepped in. Harsh words, tear gas and rubber bullets certainly didn't work and the lethargy of the govt in fact made the UDD element more brazen,

When looking at the violence perpetrated by the UDD before a single bullet was fired one could surmise that Ahbisit and Suthep should answer as to why they did not react sooner and harder to the violence instead of letting it spiral out of control to the point they did.

Anyway, a just and reasonable outcome in this instance. Well done to them both.

Long time no propaganda from you. Have you been sick recently during all the bad news about the current government?

[realenglish1]

This is the reason I thought the charges were ridiculous in the first place So why put everyone through this Circus. Just don't charge them in the beginning

What a waist of court costs and manpower AMAZING THAILAND

[prakhonchai nick]

Re Yingluk and the rice scam------------------will the ruling likely be the same... that she acted as an authorised official empowered by laws, and not as an individual?

"The Appeals Court reasoned that Mr Abhisit and Mr Suthep issued the crackdown order in their capacity as prime minister and deputy prime minister in charge of the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) in order to restore peace and order in the country.

Therefore they issued crackdown orders not as individuals but as authorised officials empowered by laws.

Therefore their orders were lawful and were not considered power abuses as they were charged"

[tbthailand]

What a shocker!!!

But the reasoning is sound, they were not private persons they were government employees. Just a fail by whoever filed the charge.

We also know why the chargers were filed.. to make the amnesty for Thaksin possible.. he thought to blackmail them into supporting the amnesty.

But the reasoning is sound,

what a bunch of nonsense. The reasoning is contrived to fit the circumstances.

These creeps will never face the music, nor will the military leaders who controlled the troops.

[robblok]

Re Yingluk and the rice scam------------------will the ruling likely be the same... that she acted as an authorised official empowered by laws, and not as an individual?

"The Appeals Court reasoned that Mr Abhisit and Mr Suthep issued the crackdown order in their capacity as prime minister and deputy prime minister in charge of the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) in order to restore peace and order in the country.

Therefore they issued crackdown orders not as individuals but as authorised officials empowered by laws.

Therefore their orders were lawful and were not considered power abuses as they were charged"

Depends in what court she is charged, we will see how it goes. I hope this government did is homework better as the PTP and justice will be served for the people of Thailand and let YL pay. If not fair play because those are the rules.

[tbthailand]

Chokchai Angkaew, a lawyer representing the families, said he will collect more evidence and appeal the ruling. Being prime minister and deputy prime minister, he said, did not mean they could authorize murder.

exactly.

[billphillips]

Whatever your political views may be ... you have to agree there certainly seems to be a different set of rules depending on what side your loyalty lies.

Whilst any, even remote, followers of the red shirt regime seem to be persecuted by sometimes military courts. The yellows appear to enjoy some exceptional understanding and leniency by the legal system.

I once heard some terrible things about a recently ousted prime minister here. Until recently, I believed it too. Now I'm not so sure because the name of the game here seems to be to discredit the people's choice and destroy them by any means. I even hear of a change in the voting procedures intended to significantly reduce the reds majority.

Just wait and see, I'm sure the majority of people will send yet another clear election message to the powers that be and their puppet masters.

Edited February 17, 2016 by billphillips

[Eric Loh]

Score 1 for the establishment. 0 for the dispensable peasants.

[lucky11]

This is the reason I thought the charges were ridiculous in the first place So why put everyone through this Circus. Just don't charge them in the beginning

What a waist of court costs and manpower AMAZING THAILAND

These charges were ridiculous and should never have been brought. They were simply doing their job of stopping the 'red' murders from escalating and were perfectly within their rights and powers to do so, so hard luck Thaksin - no charges against Abhisit and Suthep AND your ploy of getting a blanket amnesty was blown out of the water!! Loser!! .

[empireboy]

Justice and the Law... never the twain shall meet!

[CantSpell]

Reasonable outcome which should come as no surprise when looking at justification was to "restore peace and order in the country" When one looks at what the UDD element did before a single bullet was fired by the military to squash the uprising one can understand that peace and order was already spiralling out of control and would have kept getting worse had the military not stepped in. Harsh words, tear gas and rubber bullets certainly didn't work and the lethargy of the govt in fact made the UDD element more brazen,

When looking at the violence perpetrated by the UDD before a single bullet was fired one could surmise that Ahbisit and Suthep should answer as to why they did not react sooner and harder to the violence instead of letting it spiral out of control to the point they did.

After taking out the last sentence congratulating them, I must say that I kinda agree with the rest even if I do not support any of those two.

Especially when knowing who at the DSI pressed those charges against them...

Mr turn-coat Tarit with a agenda, wasn't it?

Even pressing charges (with a political agenda), he could not make it properly...

[taiwanatoa]

These filthy murderous scumbags need to be imprisoned for life.

[The Deerhunter]

Re Yingluk and the rice scam------------------will the ruling likely be the same... that she acted as an authorised official empowered by laws, and not as an individual?

"The Appeals Court reasoned that Mr Abhisit and Mr Suthep issued the crackdown order in their capacity as prime minister and deputy prime minister in charge of the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) in order to restore peace and order in the country.

Therefore they issued crackdown orders not as individuals but as authorised officials empowered by laws.

Therefore their orders were lawful and were not considered power abuses as they were charged"

A predictable and just outcome for them and a predictable argument from the UDD apologists:

The answer is this: It was reasonable for them to restore order under the circumstances. It was not reasonable for her to never attend one meeting of a body that she was chair of and instead try to "shoot the messenger" instead of investigate the corruption allegations when told of them. There are also irregularities of the budgeting in the face of the known failure of the scheme & her lack total of provision to pay the rice debtors on time. I guess we will have to see what else they have to show as evidence of avoidable (deliberate, known??) negligence.

I know the UDD/Redshirt/PTP apologists want to dress these two cases up to look the same but they are as different as chalk & cheese. I'm sorry boys! They are altogether different circumstances, similar only in your hopeful eyes.

[taiwanatoa]

Instead of imprisoning criminal thugs like them, it's decent people like labour rights reformers who are put away :

http://prachatai.org/english/node/5861?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+prachataienglish+%28Prachatai+in+English%29

[robblok]

Re Yingluk and the rice scam------------------will the ruling likely be the same... that she acted as an authorised official empowered by laws, and not as an individual?

"The Appeals Court reasoned that Mr Abhisit and Mr Suthep issued the crackdown order in their capacity as prime minister and deputy prime minister in charge of the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) in order to restore peace and order in the country.

Therefore they issued crackdown orders not as individuals but as authorised officials empowered by laws.

Therefore their orders were lawful and were not considered power abuses as they were charged"

Actually they filed her suit at the right office The Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions

Guess they know the rules better as the PTP

[cumgranosalum]

The Thai authorities' carpet must be getting very lumpy by now

[gemguy]

Of course they did.......as they are amongst the Status Quo

Nothing more needs to be discussed.

Cheers

[wabothai]

Paving the way for the elections.

[Srikcir]

This appeal decision just reinforces a basic fault in the Thai judicial system and its laws.

People acting as public officials are not held to the same judicial process as people who act as individuals.

The disparity between the two judicial systems is further exacerbated by much weaker penalties for public officials than for individuals.

The standards of Justice should apply equally to all peoples, regardless of their employment.

[Eric Loh]

A coup then would have prevented the carnage. Fast forward, smaller chaos on few Bangkok streets and the troops came out. What's going on.

[tbthailand]

These filthy murderous scumbags need to be imprisoned for life.

The third one appointed himself "PM" a while back...

Looks like murder pays pretty well ... at least if you have the right victims.

[tezzainoz]

These filthy murderous scumbags need to be imprisoned for life.

and the guy with or without his mates who killed the british couple are only angels in your mind I guess