Thai Prosecutor Sets New Date for Ex-PM Royal Defamation Case
BANGKOK — Thai prosecutors will conduct further investigations into whether former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra broke a royal defamation law, they said Monday, a day after the billionaire's release on parole in a separate graft case.
The former Manchester City owner is one of the most divisive figures in modern Thai history, loved by millions of rural voters for his populist policies but opposed by the royalist and pro-military establishment.
On Sunday he was released on parole just six months into an eight-year sentence for graft and corruption charges, for which he was arrested last August after his dramatic return to the kingdom from 15 years of self-imposed exile.
Thailand's attorney general has now "allowed further investigation" into claims the 74-year-old broke the royal defamation law in comments he made in South Korea in 2015, the attorney's office spokesman told a press conference.
Prosecutors have asked Thaksin to appear in April, at which point they could announce they are prosecuting him or ask for more time to conduct investigations.
Thaksin attended a meeting at the attorney general's office in a wheelchair and spoke in a barely audible voice, according to the director of its crime division, and bail was set at $13,900.
The country's lese-majeste law is intended to protect the king — a revered, semi-divine figure in Thai society — from insult, and those breaking it can face up to 15 years in jail per offense.
Thaksin, ousted as premier in a 2006 military coup, was sentenced to eight years on graft and abuse-of-power charges last August following his return to the kingdom.
But his prison term was cut to one year by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, and on Sunday he was released on parole early due to his health and old age.
The department of corrections confirmed his release on parole, but the exact details of his freedom are unclear.
He may be subject to monitoring and restrictions on his right to travel.