Former Thai Prime Minister formally charged for insulting monarchy: summary

What we know

• The former Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra faced formal charges of lese majeste on Tuesday, June 18. The indictment, as confirmed by a representative from the attorney general's office, stems from accusations that Shinawatra made derogatory remarks about the monarchy during a media interview in 2015.
• The high-stakes legal battles involve Thailand's political elite, including the current prime minister, Srettha Thavisin, and may aggravate a long-standing political divide between the traditionalist conservative-royalist faction and its rivals, notably the populist Pheu Thai party and the opposition Move Forward party, potentially reshaping the country's political landscape.
• Thailand's stringent lese-majeste law, among the harshest globally, imposes a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment for each alleged offence against the monarchy, making it a formidable tool for silencing criticism and dissent.
• According to Bangkok Post, the politician was released on a bail of 500,000 baht (approximately USD14,000).
• The court added that as a condition of his bail, Thaksin must surrender his passport and is barred from leaving Thailand without the court's explicit permission. The court has deemed it unlikely that Thaksin will abscond, interfere with evidence, engage in harmful behaviour, or hinder the legal process, and has therefore granted him bail on these grounds.
• Thaksin Shinawatra rose to power in 2001, championing the causes of rural Thais who had been marginalised by the country's elite. His populist movement resonated widely, securing him a resounding re-election in 2006. However, just weeks later, while Thaksin was in New York preparing to address the UN, the military staged a coup, ousting him from power. In the aftermath, Thaksin chose to go into self-imposed exile in 2008.

What they said

“The prosecutor has sent the suspect to court,“ Prayuth Bejraguna, a spokesperson for the Attorney General's office, addressed the media, referring to the 74-year-old former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra. In contrast, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University told Reuters that "The political parties and representatives that voters have chosen are being systematically and repeatedly stymied. There’s a judicial assertiveness that has been damaging to Thailand, subverting popular will and popular mandates.”