BANGKOK - A COURT ruled on Friday that security forces who quelled a demonstration by Muslims in southern Thailand in 2004 were not responsible for the deaths of 85 protesters, including 78 who died in detention.

The Songkhla provincial court found that army and police carried out their duties lawfully, taking actions that were ruled necessary for security reasons, said Ms Angkhana Neelaphaijit of the Working Group on Justice for Peace, a human rights group which monitored the trial.

An Islamic separatist insurgency in Thailand's three southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat has led to the deaths of more than 3,300 people since early 2004.

The 85 victims were among more than 1,000 people who demonstrated outside a police station in Narathiwat province's Tak Bai district for the release of six Muslims held on suspicion of aiding Islamic insurgents.

When the protest turned violent, security forces opened fire, killing seven people. The 78 others suffocated or were crushed when they were piled on top of each other, like logs, in overcrowded military trucks taking them to a military camp for detention.

The court's inquest, carried out by two judges, 'did not give much weight to witnesses and evidence from the victims' families', Ms Angkhana said.

'The court stressed the need to transport the victims to the army base in a rush because the incident happened near a royal palace. The court also said a lot of nails that had been sprayed on the road also delayed the trucks. But the court did not mention how the victims were piled up on top of each other,' she said. -- AP