Thai court acquits dozens of protesters who shut down Bangkok’s airports in 2008

BANGKOK (AP) — A Thai court has acquitted nearly 70 people of all charges related to mass protests that shut down Bangkok’s two airports in 2008 for about 10 days. The ruling by the Bangkok Criminal Court was the second this year finding that the protesters, who opposed a government headed by allies of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, had not committed serious criminal offenses in their activities. Members of the group, the People’s Alliance for Democracy, also briefly seized a state television station and occupied Government House for three months. The court ruled that the airport protests were protected under the constitution because they were peaceful and the protesters were unarmed, according to Thai media reports.