Hong Kong is close to agreeing on an extradition treaty with Thailand that could be used to send former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra back home, a news report said yesterday.
Talks were at an advanced stage over the wide-ranging treaty which could affect regular visitor Thaksin, facing a two-year jail sentence for corruption in Thailand, the Sunday Morning Post said.
News of the discussions came as Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva threatened to seek China’s help to extradite Thaksin when he announced plans to deliver a speech last month at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Hong Kong.
Thaksin cancelled the appearance, saying he did not want to damage Sino-Thai relations, but plans to deliver his address on Thursday from outside Hong Kong via a satellite video link.
China has an extradition treaty with Thailand, but Hong Kong has no such arrangement, effectively making the wealthy region of 7 million a safe haven for Thaksin.
DRAFT
Talks have been continuing for some time over a possible treaty, however, and have been speeded up in the past year, legal sources quoted by the Post said.
A draft treaty has already been finalized by Thailand, the sources said, and would have clear implications for Thaksin although the treaty does not relate to any specific case.
The Thaksin family owns a 308m² home in Hong Kong bought three months ago in his youngest daughter’s name for almost US$6 million, but so far unoccupied, the newspaper said.
Thaksin was ousted in a bloodless military coup in 2006 and later sentenced to two years in jail for corruption in a prosecution he claims was politically motivated.
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