Former Thailand PM Thaksin Shinawatra to go on trial for royal insult
Al Jazeera
The case relates to an interview the billionaire politician gave to South Korean media while in self-imposed exile in 2015.
Thailand’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who returned home last year after 15 years in exile, will go on trial next month on charges of insulting the monarchy.
Prayuth Pecharakun, a spokesman for Thailand’s attorney general, said 74-year-old Thaksin would be summoned to appear in court on June 18 to answer charges under Thailand’s lese-majeste law, one of the strictest in the world. He also faces charges of violating the Computer Crime Act.
Thaksin, a prominent telecommunications tycoon, was first elected prime minister in 2001, but removed five years later in a military coup amid mass protests from the urban middle class and disquiet over his policies among the pro-royalist, pro-military elite. His populist political movement continued to win elections even after Thaksin went into exile, but was brought down in coups or court rulings amid relentless political upheaval.
The latest allegations were made by the generals who seized power from Thaksin’s sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, in 2014 and relate to an interview he gave to South Korean media the following year.
“The attorney general has decided to indict Thaksin for insulting the monarchy,” Prayuth told reporters.
Human rights group Viasna reports 1,275 political prisoners still jailed and face harsh conditions.
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