The Criminal Court on Tuesday dismissed charges of sedition brought by the military junta against former deputy prime minister Chaturon Chaisaeng six years ago under Section 116 of the Criminal Code and the Computer Crimes Act.
Mr Chaturon was arrested by soldiers on May 27, 2014 at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT) in Pathumwan district of Bangkok.
He was a guest speaker on the effects of military coups - five days after the coup by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) ousted the Pheu Thai-led government.
On May 29, 2014 he was taken by soldiers to the Crime Suppression Division and charged with instigating public unrest and undermining the NCPO, in breach of Section 116 of the Criminal Code, and violating the Computer Crimes Act.
Mr Chaturon denied the charges.
He was initially indicted in the Military Court and the case later transferred to the Criminal Court.
Mr Chaturon, accompanied by a lawyer, appeared before the court on Tuesday.
The court said that from an examination of evidence and witnesses submitted by the prosecution and the defence, it could be concluded that in his speech in English to an audience of about 80 at the FCCT Mr Chaturon voiced disagreement with the NCPO's seizure of power and viewed the orders and announcements issued by the NCPO as illegal.
Mr Chaturon called for the NCPO to quickly return power to people by calling a general election as soon as possible. He also asked the people to exercise restraint.
The court did not see any evidence of Mr Chaturon intending to incite unrest, as charged.
Moreover, there was no evidence to substantiate the charge of violating the Computer Crimes Act.
The court, therefore, ordered the dismissal of the case.
"The court has given me justice. There are still many other people who have been unjustly treated by state officials. I want this case to be a precedent for people in their calls for justice," Mr Chaturon said.