BANGKOK — A court in southern Thailand on Monday dropped a case against former state security personnel and officials over the deaths of 85 Muslim protesters in 2004, saying none of the suspects had been detained.

The families of the victims of what is known as the Tak Bai massacre in April have accused seven soldiers and government officials of murder, attempted murder and illegal detention. The Narathiwat Provincial Court formally accepted the case in August.

Although there was enough evidence for an indictment, the court said the case could not proceed because no suspects had been arrested and brought to court, and as a result the 20-year statute of limitations expired on Friday.

The court’s statement noted that its order is not a dismissal of the charges against the suspects, as they “never entered the legal action but fled until the statute of limitations expired.”

One of those named is Pisal Wattanawongkiri, the commander of the 4th Army Region at the time of the incident. At the time of the indictment in August, he was a deputy of the ruling Pheu Thai party. The party said he had taken medical leave to seek treatment abroad and resigned from the party earlier this month. Other suspects were also believed to have fled the country after the indictment.

The case gained notoriety because of the way the victims died. On 25 October 2004, thousands of protesters gathered at the Tak Bai District Police Station in Narathiwat to demand the release of six Muslim men who had been detained a few days earlier. The detainees, members of an official village defense force, were accused by police of handing over weapons to Muslim insurgents but reported them stolen.

Seven of the protesters were shot after the demonstration turned violent. About 1,300 of them were later rounded up, had their hands tied, and were loaded into trucks, stacked like firewood. By the time the vehicles reached a military base where they were taken to be detained, 78 had died by being crushed or suffocated. Several others were seriously injured or disabled by the crush.

The deaths came shortly after a Muslim separatist insurgency broke out in Thailand’s southernmost provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala, the only Muslim-majority provinces in the Buddhist-dominated nation.

Muslim residents have long complained of being treated as second-class citizens in Thailand, and separatist movements have been periodically active for decades. Strong crackdowns fueled discontent. Fighting continues to this day, but at a lower level.

Speaking to reporters outside the court, Ratsada Manooratsada, who represents the families of the victims, said that while the outcome was awaited, the legal team would continue to pursue other alternatives, including investigations into whether police officers deliberately delayed proceedings until when the case came close to being close. expired.

“The statute of limitations in the memory of the people will never have an expiration date,” he said.

The UN Special Rapporteurs of the Human Rights Council issued a statement last week calling for the investigation and prosecution to continue even after the statute of limitations has expired, as “our failure to investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice is itself a violation of Thailand’s . human rights obligations.”

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said last week that it was not possible to extend the validity of the case. She offered a formal apology to those affected, insisting that all relevant agencies had done all they could to deliver justice.

“We will do everything possible to prevent such an incident from happening again,” she said.