Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, seen here in Bangkok, Thailand in August of 2023. He was acquitted Friday of charges related to royal defamation. File Photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EPA-EFE
Aug. 22 (UPI) — Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra avoided a likely prison term Friday after his royal defamation case was dismissed.
Shinawatra was indicted last year on charges he defied the country’s lese majeste law, which prohibits anyone from insulting the Thai monarchy.
He was accused by a general from the military regime that took power in 2014, in a coup that deposed the prime minister at that time, his sister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Shinawatra allegedly disrespected the monarchy in an interview he gave in 2015 to a South Korean newspaper in which he said people connected to the “palace” helped overthrow Yingluck.
Shinawatra was living in Dubai at the time in a self-imposed exile, and out of reach for prosecution. The 76-year-old could have seen as many as 15 years in prison if found guilty.
The charges against Shinawatra, who was elected prime minister in 2001 but removed himself in a 2006 coup, were widely believed to be politicized due to his hold on power despite being absent.
Even while he remained outside Thailand’s borders, political parties tied to Shinawatra won national elections until 2023.
It was then he returned and was indicted over the defamation charges in June of 2024. He was also charged with violating Thailand’s Computer Crime Act because the interview in question ran online, but that was also dismissed Friday.
Acquittals in Thai lese majeste cases are rare, as 87% lead to convictions.
Shinawatra will next face a judge in September, as he was hospitalized upon returning to Thailand and is accused of using that stay to avoid being imprisoned.