Ex-Thai PM Abhisit indicted for murder over rally crackdown

Former Thai prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva (C) arrives at the court in Bangkok on December 11, 2013. Abhisit was on December 11 indicted for murder in connection with a deadly military crackdown on mass opposition protests in Bangkok three years ago, prosecutors said. AFP PHOTO

The indictment comes as fresh political turmoil shakes the Thai capital, with protesters backed by Abhisit's opposition party seeking to oust Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and rid the kingdom of the influence of her brother, deposed former leader Thaksin.

"We have indicted him (Abhisit)," Nanthasak Poonsuk, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, told AFP outside the Bangkok court where the closed-door hearing was held. "The court accepts to hear the case."