A THAI criminal court threw out charges of murder and abuse of power faced by former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his deputy today.

The decision, which concerns a deadly crackdown on street protesters in 2010, is sure to spark the anger of Thailand’s “red shirt” activists, who have spotlighted the country’s long culture of impunity for holders of political office.

But with power firmly in the hands of military rulers who have supressed all dissent, the court’s decision will undoubtedly stand.

The court claimed that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the case because the two men held public office at the time of the protest.

“The court has no jurisdiction to consider the case because the two were prime minister and deputy prime minister,” the judge said. 

“The charges relate to political office holders.

“The criminal court therefore dismisses the charges.”

Thailand’s public prosecutors had charged the two over the crackdown on protesters from the red shirt United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship.

Mr Vejjajiva, who heads the conservative pro-establishment Democrat Party, faced popular opposition in 2010 when tens of thousands of red shirt activists demanding fresh elections took to the streets of the Thai capital, Bangkok, accusing his government of being elitist and army-backed.

The other man freed of charges yesterday, Mr Vejjajiva’s former deputy Suthep Thaugsuban, quit the party last year and went on to lead months of street protests that culminated in the ousting of prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra and the May coup.