BANGKOK, April 10 – Thailand’s prosecutors have pushed back until next month a hearing that will decide whether to indict former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra on charges of insulting the monarchy as the investigation into the case has not been completed, a spokesman for the Office of the Attorney General said on Wednesday, reported Sputnik.
The complaint was filed in connection with an interview the ex-prime minister gave to South Korean media in 2015. In September 2016, then-Attorney General Pongniwat Yuthapanboripan moved to indict the fugitive politician, but the process was delayed until Thaksin returned to Thailand from a 15-year self-imposed exile last August.
“The attorney-general decided to return the royal insult case under Article 112 of Thailand’s Penal Code against former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to the investigating authorities and postpone the announcement of the decision in the case to May 29, 2024,” the spokesman, Prayut Bejraguna, told a briefing.
The decision was made after Thaksin’s request to ensure justice in the investigation and pending investigative actions over some aspects of the case, the spokesman added.
Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code, also known as the lese majeste law, carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison for each offense.
Thaksin is one of the most popular political leaders in Thai history. He was in exile after the military coup in September 2006 and a series of criminal cases against him on corruption charges. On August 22, 2023, Thaksin returned to Thailand, knowing that he would have to serve an eight-year prison sentence issued in absentia. He felt ill and was hospitalised the same day he arrived in Thailand. On September 1, King of Thailand Maha Vajiralongkorn granted him partial clemency, reducing the sentence from eight years to one year. On February 18, Thaksin was released on parole.
