BANGKOK: Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister of Thailand, will be prosecuted for ‘insulting the monarchy’. Thailand’s attorney general’s office stated the above on Wednesday, over comments which he made almost a decade ago.

The spokesman for the attorney general, Prayuth Pecharakun, said Thaksin would be summoned to court on the 18 of June, to defend charges he faces under the kingdom’s stringent lese-majeste laws.

The 74-year-old, Thaksin, is a two-time premier, who was ousted for government in a coup which took place in 2006. He then lived in self-exile for a period of 15 years.

Last year he returned to Thailand, as his ‘Pheu Thai’ party assumed power, at the helm of a coalition government. “The attorney general has decided to indict Thaksin for insulting the monarchy” Prayuth told reporters.

“The attorney general cannot bring him to court today, as his (Thaksin’s) lawyer stated he has Covid.” Thaksin also faces prosecution under the ‘Computer Crimes Act’, the spokesman stated.

Thailand’s defamation laws, meant to protect King ‘Maha Vajiralongkorn’ and his close family, are among the strictest (around the globe). Each charge brings a potential 15-year prison sentence.

Thaksin’s lawyer, Winyat Chatmontree, says he will ‘fight the charges’. “He is ready to prove his innocence in the justice system” Winyat told reporters.

Critics allege the ‘lese-majeste laws’ are often abused to stifle ‘legitimate political debate’. There has been a significant spike in their use, since the youth-led anti-government street demonstrations which occurred in 2020 and 2021.

So far, more than 270 individuals have been charged with the ‘lese-majeste’, since the protests took place, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.

The prosecutor’s office says the case against Thaksin pertains to comments he had made, in 2015 (to South Korean media). The case is the latest in a series of legal battles, that he has fought.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2024