Thai court rules against elected politicians, not coup makers

BANGKOK -- When Srettha Thavisin, Thailand's recently dismissed prime minister, learned that he had been removed from office by a 5-4 vote of the Constitutional Court, his response was resigned and dignified: "I accept the decision of the Constitutional Court but I want to affirm that throughout my almost one-year tenure as prime minister I have tried to do everything correctly."

Srettha's fatal error was allowing a convicted felon into his cabinet, but there were no bitter recriminations. There is no way to appeal a Constitutional Court verdict, and he was well aware of the contempt of court laws that are part of Thailand's fearsome suite of defamation legislation. The most severe is the Law of Lese-Majeste, which is intended to quash anything perceived as harmful to senior members of the royal family.