Former Thai Prime Minister and political heavyweight Thaksin Shinawatra was indicted on Jun. 18 on Lese Majeste charges, for comments stemming from a 2015 interview.

Charges

The Bangkok Post quotes the spokesman former Thailand's Office of the Attorney General, Prayut Phetcharakhun, as saying that the Criminal Court had accepted the case against Thaksin on the morning of Jun. 18.

It also said that Thaksin had reported to public prosecutors the same morning, in relation to the case.

The 74-year-old Thaksin was Thailand's prime minister from 2001 until 2006, when he was ousted in a coup.

Thaksin would later go into exile, only returning to Thailand earlier in 2024.

His sister Yingluck also became prime minister, and was also ousted in a 2014 coup.

In 2015, while in exile, Thaksin gave an interview to a South Korean newspaper, Chosun Ilbo, wherein he claimed that members of Thailand's privy council had supported the 2014 coup.

Legal violation

Thailand's police claimed that Thaksin's comment had violated the Lese Majesty law, which punishes criticism of Thailand's monarchy and carries a penalty of up to 15 years imprisonment.

It is one of the strictest such laws in the world.

The complaint was initially lodged in 2015, but has largely lain dormant until now, possibly because Thaksin was absent in that time.

Thaksin was initially due to be charged in May, but was able to prove that he had contracted Covid-19, delaying the charges until the present.

Thailand's AG had decided to indict Thaksin then, saying there was enough evidence to bring the case to trial.

International reaction

International media outlets such as the Associated Press, Bloomberg, and Reuters have grouped the charges together with other similar prosecutions.

One is a case against incumbent PM Srettha Thavisin, of the Thaksin backed Pheu Thai party, alleging ethical violations regarding a cabinet appointment, which could result in Srettha being ousted from power.

The other is a case against the reformist Move Forward Party, which threatens the party with dissolution over allegations that the party was attempting to overthrow Thailand's monarchy by, ironically, saying it sought to reform the Lese Majeste law.

A third case involve an individual MFP member of parliament who was jailed for two years in Lese Majeste charges.

Bloomberg has reported that the series of prosecutions have led to political uncertainty and has rattled foreign investors, who have withdrawn over US$3 billion (S$4.o6 billion) from its stock and bond markets, pushing its stock exchange to a four year low.

Four years ago, Thailand was in the midst of a series of protests calling for political reform, including reform of the monarchy.

Asserting control

These cases have been interpreted as attempts by  Thailand's conservative, royalist factions, attempted to assert control over reformist elements of Thai politics.

In a May 2024 series of Tweets, Jonathan Head, the widely respected BBC correspondent for Southeast Asia explained that these conservative factions were willing to allow Thaksin to return to Thailand from exile, but wanted to ward him off from remerging as a major political force.

This decision highlights how much it is the courts, more than the ballot box, which determine who runs Thailand. And the monarchy remains a political issue, in part because its defenders keep using the 112 blunt instrument to go after any perceived threats to its hallowed status.

— Jonathan Head (@pakhead) May 29, 2024

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Top image via @thaksinlive/Instagram