Former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra indicted for insulting monarchy

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, 74, has been granted release on bail hours after he had been formally indicted on a charge of defaming the country's monarchy.

Thaksin, an influential political figure despite being ousted from power 18 years ago, reported himself to prosecutors on Tuesday morning and was indicted, Prayuth Bejraguna, a spokesperson for the Office of the Attorney General, said at a news conference.

The Criminal Court said Thaksin's bail release was approved with a bond worth $13,000 (500,000 baht) under a condition that he cannot travel out of Thailand unless he receives permission from the court.

A court statement issued later listed several reasons for allowing bail, including Thaksin's age, his having a permanent address in Thailand and the lack of an objection from the prosecutor.

It added that his passport was confiscated.

Lese majeste

The law on defaming the monarchy, an offence known as lese majeste, is punishable by three to 15 years in prison.

It is among the harshest such laws globally and is increasingly being used in Thailand to punish government critics.

Thaksin was ousted by an army coup in 2006 that set off years of deep political polarisation.

His opponents, who were generally staunch royalists, had accused him of corruption, abuse of power and disrespecting then-King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died in 2016.

He was originally charged with lese majeste in 2016 for remarks he made a year earlier to journalists in South Korea.

The case was not pursued at that time because he went into exile in 2008 to avoid punishment from other legal judgments he decried as political.

He voluntarily returned to Thailand last year and was immediately taken into custody for convictions related to corruption and abuse of power, but served virtually all of his sentence in a hospital rather than prison on medical grounds.

He was granted release on parole in February.

Power dynamics

Thaksin returned to Thailand as the Pheu Thai party, seen as his political machine, joined hands with its longstanding rivals in the conservative establishment to form a government.

The minimal punishment that he faced was interpreted as part of a deal to keep the progressive Move Forward party, which finished first in last year’s election, out of power, though no deal was publicly acknowledged.

His case is just one of several that have complicated Thai politics since the Pheu Thai government took office after the Senate — a conservative, military-appointed body — successfully blocked Move Forward from taking power last year.

Thaksin has maintained a high profile and is seen as the unofficial power behind the Pheu Thai-led government.

He has travelled the country making public appearances and political observations that could upset powerful figures on the establishment side.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, who is from Pheu Thai, meanwhile, is being probed over his appointment of a Cabinet member who had been imprisoned for bribery.

If found culpable, Srettha could be forced out of his position.