Thailand indicts former leader Thaksin Shinawatra on royal insult charges

Bangkok CNN —

Thailand’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been indicted on lese majeste charges, authorities said Wednesday, in the latest twist in a decades-long political saga in the Southeast Asian kingdom.

The case, filed by police, alleged Thaksin violated Thailand’s notoriously harsh royal insult law during an interview he gave in 2015 to the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo.

“The attorney general has decided to indict Thaksin on all charges,” spokesperson Prayuth Bejraguna, told reporters Wednesday. Thaksin will need to appear before the Office of the Attorney General on June 18, after which he will be taken to court. He could not appear at Wednesday’s hearing due to a Covid-19 infection, the spokesperson said.

Thaksin has denied the charges, according to the spokesperson, and has repeatedly pledged loyalty to the monarchy.

Thaksin, who served as prime minister from 2001 until he was ousted in a military coup in 2006, made a dramatic return to Thailand last August after 15 years in self-imposed exile andwas taken into custody.

Some experts believe Thaksin may have struck a deal with the country’s powerful conservative and royalist establishment for his return – given his court convictions and the charges against him. Thaksin has denied the claim.

Pro-democracy protesters light candles during a mourning ceremony for Netiporn Sanesangkhom, a Thai political activist, outside The Southern Bangkok Criminal Court on May 14, 2024. Sanesangkhom died from cardiac arrest at after 65 days on hunger strike in prison.

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He was sentenced to eight years in prison for conflict of interest, abuse