Opponents of former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra were trying to discredit her by spreading false rumors that she would flee abroad before she is due to face criminal charges in court later this month, her lawyer said yesterday.
Yingluck became Thailand’s first female prime minister in July 2011, but was removed from office days before a coup in May last year led by then-army head and now Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha. That followed months of street protests in Bangkok against her government.
Last month, she was barred from politics for five years over her role in a state rice-buying program, which had won her many voters in the rural heartland, but cost Thailand billions of US dollars in losses.
Yingluck, the sister of former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was also indicted on criminal charges over the program, charges that her supporters said were aimed at crippling her powerful family’s political influence.
Thailand’s attorney general is to submit a subpoena to the Supreme Court on Thursday next week and wants Yingluck to be present.
Her lawyer, Norawit Laleng, said Yingluck was planning to fight the charges in person, even though Thai law does not stipulate that she needs to present for the subpoena.
Rumors that Yingluck would flee were being spread by her critics to jolt the military into action, Norawit told reporters.
“If she had a plan to flee, she would not have publicly asked for permission to go abroad,” he said.
Yingluck had hoped to visit Hong Kong from Sunday until Feb. 22.
“The opposition is trying to make out that she wants to flee abroad in order to discredit her,” Norawit said. “This is simply not true.”
The government denied Yingluck permission to travel abroad on Sunday, saying it intended to ensure that she is in the country to face the criminal charges.
She faces up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.
Thaksin, who remains hugely influential in Thailand, was ousted in a coup in 2006 and fled into exile to avoid jail over a corruption conviction two years later.
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