Thai court declines to suspend pro-army lawmakers

A Thai court says it will allow 32 pro-military lawmakers to keep their seats while it decides whether they violated election rules by holding shares in media companies, a decision viewed as unfair because it earlier suspended an opposition leader from parliamentary sessions over a similar allegation.

The Constitutional Court agreed Wednesday to rule on a complaint brought by a leading opposition party, Future Forward, that the 32 members of a pro-army coalition had violated the media holding prohibition. But it dismissed allegations for nine others, citing a lack of evidence.

The court earlier suspended the leader of the anti-military Future Forward Party, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, until it issues a ruling in his case. It says it did not suspend the pro-military lawmakers because the complaint against them was filed differently.