The Supreme Court has upheld the acquittal of three men charged with masterminding the murder of environmental activist Charoen Wat-aksorn, a leading opponent of coal-fired power plant projects in Prachuap Khiri Khan province.
In its ruling, read at the Criminal Court in Bangkok Tuesday, the Supreme Court dismissed charges against siblings Thanu Hinkaew and Manote Hinkaew and their father Juea Hinkaew.
The Supreme Court confirmed the ruling of the Appeals Court in 2013, which cited a lack of evidence because the two accused gunmen, Saneh Lekluan, and Prajuab Hinkaew, had died while in prison in 2006 and their testimony could therefore not be verified.
In 2008, the Criminal Court sentenced Thanu to death and acquitted Mr Manote and Mr Juea. Thanu is a 53-year-old lawyer. Mr Manote, 49, is a former provincial councillor and Mr Juea, 78, is a former head of tambon Bo Nok Muang district, Prachuap Khiri Khan province, where a coal-fired power plant was planned.
Charoen, a Prachuap Khiri Khan native, was shot dead at the age of 37 on June 21, 2004, as he got off a bus in Bo Nok.
Earlier that day he met the National Anti-Corruption Commission in Bangkok to testify on the alleged encroachment on Chai Thong canal in Prachuap Khiri Khan's Muang district.
His death happened while he was seeking an investigation into the issuance of a land title where the coal-fired power plant was planned. The Bo Nok Tambon Administrative Organisation supervises the land.
Conservation protests by villagers led by Charoen succeeded in preventing construction of coal-fired power plants planned in Bo Nok and Hin Krud sub-district of Bang Saphan district by Gulf Electric Co.
The two suspects other than Thanu appeared at the court to hear the verdict. After hearing the ruling, Mr Juea said he had been a defendant in the case for the past 11 years, even though he "had nothing to do with it".
Mr Juea said the verdict has proved his innocence though some villagers may still have doubts over the issue.
Tuesday's ruling also drew more than 100 villagers who accompanied Charoen's wife, Kon-uma Phongnoi, to the court. They wore green T-shirts as a symbol of their protest against the power plant project and their intention to protect local natural resources against possible impacts of the plant.
Speaking after the ruling, Ms Kon-uma said the verdict which she had awaited for 11 years was not unexpected. Though she still had some burning questions in her mind, the widow said she had "to accept the verdict" when the case came to an end.
However, she said the campaign by local villagers to protect the environment will continue. They are closely monitoring the Prachuap Khiri Khan governor's plan to use an area near Chai Thong canal to build a university. The plan requires changing the area's public land status, a move that is opposed by the villagers.
Her group suspects the area is being targeted by some state officials, businessmen, and influential figures, which "raises worries over land encroachment".
She would discuss the matter with villagers to set out ways to protect their rights, and she asked the media to help monitor her campaign.
Ms Kon-uma said she had learned many lessons over the past 11 years since her husband had been murdered.