Thai ex-PM Thaksin appears on stand in royal defamation case
Thaksin faces up to 15 years in prison if he is convicted in the closed-door trial in Bangkok, where he stands accused of breaching strict lese majeste laws that shield Thailand's royal family from abuse and criticism.
For the past quarter-century, the 75-year-old telecoms magnate has been a defining figure of Thai politics, founding a political clan which has jousted with the traditional pro-royal, pro-military elite.
But his prosecution — combined with the suspension of his daughter, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, this month — represents a dramatic waning of their family's political fortune, analysts say.
The prosecutors' case revolves around remarks Thaksin made to South Korean media a decade ago.
Thaksin's lawyer Winyat Chatmontri said he gave testimony in the morning "and will continue throughout the rest of the day".
The court has scheduled the verdict for August 22, he told reporters.
Supporters of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra sit in front of the Criminal Court in Bangkok on Wednesday. |
AFP-JIJI
Around 50 Thaksin supporters gathered at the courthouse wearing red shirts — the colour of his political movement — emblazoned with his portrait.
"He is a very talented guy," 79-year-old retired accountant Vaew Wilailak said.
"But from past experience, bad people just want to get rid of him."
Thaksin returned to Thailand in August 2023 after 15 years in exile, following a military coup which ousted him from the premiership he was twice elected to.
He returned the day his family's Pheu Thai party took office at the head of a coalition government backed by their conservative former enemies, fueling suspicions a backroom deal had been struck.
'Chill' Thaksin
Thaksin was immediately sentenced to eight years in prison on graft and abuse of power charges — later reduced to one year by a pardon from King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
But political analyst Yuttaporn Issarachai said: "There is always someone within the establishment who sees him as a threat to Thai society."
In recent interviews, Thaksin affirmed his loyalty to the monarchy and expressed gratitude for the king's pardon.
Speaking outside the court on the trial's opening day on July 1, Thaksin's lawyer Winyat said his client appeared "chill" despite the seriousness of the case.
On the same day, Thaksin's daughter Paetongtarn was suspended by the Constitutional Court pending an ethics probe into her conduct during a leaked diplomatic phone call discussing a deadly border clash between Thailand and neighboring Cambodia.
In the call, Paetongtarn addressed Cambodian ex-leader Hun Sen as "uncle" and described a Thai military commander as an "opponent" — sparking backlash for seeming to kowtow to a foreign statesman and undermine her own country's military.
Pheu Thai's coalition has been abandoned by key conservative backers over the call, leaving it with a razor-thin parliamentary majority steered by a caretaker prime minister.
On Wednesday, Thailand's parliament threw out a draft amnesty bill in its first reading that would have released more than 30 people in prison for royal defamation.
According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, at least 280 people have been prosecuted under the kingdom's strict lese majeste law since 2020, which shields the king and his close family from any criticism and carries a maximum sentence of up to 15 years per offense.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NHK
3 hours ago
- NHK
Japan's top negotiator, US Commerce chief hold phone talks
Japanese Economic Revitalization Minister Akazawa Ryosei and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick have agreed to continue deep discussions of US tariff measures. The Japanese government said the two officials talked over the phone for about 45 minutes on Thursday morning Japan time. The talks came after US President Donald Trump indicated that Washington will start imposing a 25-percent tariff on Japanese imports starting August 1 as notified in his letter, unless Japan opens up its market. Both sides reaffirmed their respective positions on US tariff measures and agreed to continue dialogue. On Thursday evening, Akazawa reported the progress of tariff negotiations with the US to Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa at the Prime Minister's Office. Akazawa told reporters after the meeting that he had received various instructions from Ishiba, but he declined to provide details. Regarding the August 1 deadline for what Trump calls "reciprocal" tariffs, Akazawa said Japan has national interests that cannot be compromised and that no concessions will be made even though a specific deadline has been set. He went on to say that Japan will continue efforts to find common ground, on which both countries will be able to agree. Meanwhile, Japanese government officials said the prime minister is expected to meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday. Bessent will visit Japan as part of a US delegation visiting the 2025 World Expo in Osaka.
NHK
11 hours ago
- NHK
Bear attacks spark fear in Japan
Prefectures around Japan are putting residents on the alert following a recent spate of bear attacks, including a fatal mauling in Hokkaido.
The Diplomat
12 hours ago
- The Diplomat
Former Thai PM Thaksin Gives Testimony in Lese-majeste Case
The case is just one of a handful of legal complaints that threaten to end the influence of the Shinawatra family in Thai politics. Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday took the stand in a Bangkok court to defend himself against royal defamation charges that threaten to curtail his influence in Thai politics. The former leader has been charged with lese-majeste and computer crimes stemming from a 2015 interview that he gave with a South Korean newspaper, and has been barred from leaving Thailand without permission until the case is resolved. Thaksin faces up to 15 years in prison if he is convicted under Thailand's harsh lese-majeste law, which criminalizes criticisms of the king and the royal family. Speaking to reporters after yesterday's hearing, Thaksin's lawyer Winyat Chatmontree said that the court would hand down its verdict on August 22 – two years to the day that Thaksin returned to Thailand from more than 15 years in self-exile. 'We are confident that we will receive justice,' Winyat said, as per Reuters. The case is just one of a series of legal challenges facing Thaksin and his daughter, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, whose government hangs by a thread after the leak in mid-June of an embarrassing phone call with Cambodia's equally influential former leader, Hun Sen. During the call, which discussed the ongoing border dispute between the two nations, the Thai leader appeared to side with Hun Sen and accused a Thai general of being 'completely aligned' with her political opponents. On July 1, the same day that Thaksin's trial opened in Bangkok, Paetongtarn was suspended by the Constitutional Court, pending an ethics probe into her conduct during the call with Hun Sen. The national anti-corruption body has also announced a similar investigation, and the Bhumjaithai party, which withdrew from Paetongtarn's coalition after the call was leaked, has pledged to seek a vote of no-confidence in her government. In addition to the current lese-majeste case, Thaksin also faces legal scrutiny for the circumstances surrounding his return to the country – in particular, that he faked an illness in order to avoid serving a single night of a lengthy corruption sentence in prison. This flurry of legal cases marks an abrupt end to the truce between Thaksin and Thailand's conservative political establishment, and a resumption of the political struggle between the two camps. For years, the establishment had sought to extirpate his influence, and pro-Thaksin governments were removed both via military coups (against Thaksin in 2006 and his sister Yingluck Shinawatra in 2014) and rulings by politically pliant courts. However, after the May 2023 general election, which saw the opposition Move Forward Party (MFP) win a plurality of seats on a threateningly progressive platform, Thaksin's Pheu Thai party agreed to form a coalition with conservative and military-backed parties in order to block the MFP from power. In exchange, Thaksin was allowed to return to Thailand, which he did on the same day in August 2023 that the new government was sworn in. An eight-year prison sentence was conveniently watered down, and Thaksin was granted parole in February of last year. Despite the truce, many royalist opponents of Thaksin did not let go of their strong mistrust of the former leader, and many perceived that he overstepped the political boundaries of the deal by inserting himself so actively into the affairs of government. While he does not occupy any official position in government, Thaksin has been very active in government-adjacent roles, leading critics on both sides of Thai politics to accuse Paetongtarn (with some justice) of acting as his proxy. They have since seized on the border dispute with Cambodia, which has worsened since an armed clash between Thai and Cambodian soldiers on May 28, to attack the legitimacy of Paetongtarn's government. While the current cases will likely bring Paetongtarn's term to an end, sooner or later, they also raise questions about the future prospects of the Shinawatra clan as a force in Thai politics, as Joshua Kurlantzick and Pavin Chachavalpongpun argued in an article in late June. 'Although the family has weathered numerous challenges in the past, changing party names at times, the convergence of internal fractures among its backers and sustained external pressures from powerful Thai actors now suggests the dynasty is done for,' they wrote.
