Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday testified in court, seeking to defend himself against royal defamation charges in a watershed case for his faltering political dynasty.
Thaksin faces up to 15 years in prison if he is convicted in the closed-door trial in Bangkok, where he stands accused of breaching strict lese-majeste laws that shield Thailand’s royal family from abuse and criticism.
For the past quarter-century, the 75-year-old telecoms magnate has been a defining figure of Thai politics, founding a political clan which has jousted with the traditional pro-royal, pro-military elite.
Photo: AFP
However, his prosecution — combined with the suspension of his daughter, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, this month — represents a dramatic waning of their family’s political fortune, analysts said.
The prosecutors’ case revolves around remarks Thaksin made to South Korean media a decade ago.
Thaksin’s lawyer Winyat Chatmontri said he testified in the morning “and will continue throughout the rest of the day.”
The court has scheduled the verdict for Aug. 22, he told reporters.
About 50 Thaksin supporters gathered at the courthouse wearing red shirts — the color of his political movement — emblazoned with his portrait.
“He is a very talented guy,” 79-year-old retired accountant Vaew Wilailak said. “But from past experience, bad people just want to get rid of him.”
Thaksin returned to Thailand in August 2023 after 15 years in exile, following a military coup that ousted him from the prime minister post he was twice elected to.
He returned the day his family’s Pheu Thai Party took office at the head of a coalition government backed by their conservative former enemies, fueling suspicions a backroom deal had been struck.
Thaksin was immediately sentenced to eight years in prison on graft and abuse of power charges — later reduced to one year by a pardon from King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
However, “there is always someone within the establishment who sees him as a threat to Thai society,” Political analyst Yuttaporn Issarachai said.
In recent interviews, Thaksin affirmed his loyalty to the monarchy and expressed gratitude for the king’s pardon.
Speaking outside the court on the trial’s opening day on July 1, Winyat said his client appeared “chill” despite the seriousness of the case.
On the same day, Thaksin’s daughter was suspended by the Constitutional Court pending an ethics probe into her conduct during a leaked diplomatic phone call discussing a deadly border clash between Thailand and neighboring Cambodia.
In the call, Paetongtarn addressed former Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen as “uncle” and described a Thai military commander as an “opponent” — sparking backlash for seeming to kowtow to a foreign statesman and undermine her own country’s military.
Pheu Thai’s coalition has been abandoned by key conservative backers over the call, leaving it with a razor-thin parliamentary majority steered by a caretaker prime minister.
The Thai National Assembly yesterday threw out a draft amnesty bill in its first reading that would have released more than 30 people in prison for royal defamation.
At least 280 people have been prosecuted under the kingdom’s strict lese-majeste law since 2020, which carries a maximum sentence of up to 15 years per offense, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said.
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