Similar advice was also given by Sombat Wong-kamhaeng, the Law Society of Thailand, who said that Pratya Preechavej and Yutthaphong Kittisriwor-raphan could even file a malfeasance charge against police for wrongly securing the warrants against them.

The two men came to The Nation last Thursday and admitted they were the men in the police photos - but definitely not the bombers. They changed their story the morning after, saying that they only "looked similar" to the suspects in the photos.

They had a six-hour meeting with police the previous night.

Sombat said it was very rare for police to have warrants revoked.

In most cases, police simply choose not to make an arrest if they wrongly identify or implicate people.

But he suggested that both Pratya and Yutthaphong verify evidence or produce an alibi to the court that they had nothing to do with the bomb attack at Seacon Square shopping complex on December 31 last year.

He said both men could also demand compensatory damage from the state through the Justice Ministry or file lawsuits against media outlets that distributed the police photos in question.

However, Charan defended the police, saying the issuance of arrest warrants against suspects relying on their photos - but without their identities - was still useful, as it usually ended up with people coming forward to volunteer information on the wanted suspects.

Commanders and members of the police team tasked with probing the nine bomb attacks on New Year's Eve - who sought warrants against both Pratya and Yutthaphong - declined to comment or give interviews to reporters.

Maj-General Jate Mongkholhatthee later said both men had the right to have the warrants against them revoked, but that police were still positive the photos featured the two suspected bombers seen in video footage from security cameras at Seacon Square.