Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand's former prime minister and shadow government leader, was indicted on charges of insulting the monarchy on Tuesday, heralding a period of uncertainty that could plunge the country into political crisis.
Thaksin is the most high-profile person to be charged with violating royal defamation laws, one of the toughest in the world. He has paid about $14,000 bail, according to Thai courts, but the trial could drag on for months.
The indictment is the latest sign that Thailand's royalist and military establishment is exerting its will. It allowed Thaksin back into the country last year after 15 years in self-imposed exile, effectively teaming up with his longtime opponent to block any new challenger from taking power. Analysts say the regime is now using the threat of legal action against the 74-year-old to check his political ambitions.
While Thaksin holds no formal position in the current government, he is widely seen as having great influence in the ruling coalition led by his Pheu Thai party, with many of his allies appointed to cabinet positions.
Current Prime Minister Suretta Thavisin, an ally of Thaksin, also faces legal challenges that could result in him being suspended from office. He is accused of violating the constitution by appointing a lawyer with a criminal record to his cabinet. Suretta's case was heard by the Constitutional Court on Tuesday.
The court is also hearing a petition to disband the opposition Forward Party, which came in first in last year's election but was blocked from forming a government. In January, the court charged the party with violating the constitution over its campaign to weaken royal defamation laws.
The cases are a reminder of who holds power in Thailand, which has long been ruled by a royalist military that has used the justice system and the armed forces to crush challengers.
The criticism of Thaksin began with an interview in the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo. Thaksin said nine years ago that the Privy Council, the king's top advisory body, backed the 2014 coup. He is also charged with entering information into a computer system that he deemed a threat to national security. His lawyer, Winyat Chatmontry, told reporters that Thaksin has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Thaksin's passport has been confiscated by authorities and he is now banned from traveling abroad, Win Yat said.
Mr. Thaksin has long been seen as a demon of the old order, a charismatic telecoms tycoon whose populist policies energized voters in the rural north. He was ousted in 2006 after about five years in office, and for much of the 2000s his “Red Shirt” supporters clashed with anti-Thaksin “Yellow Shirt” factions of royalists and urban elites on the streets of Bangkok.
Thaksin fled the country after his ouster but maintained influence while living in Dubai and London, and the party he founded has always won the most votes in every election except last year, when the progressive Forward Party won an unexpected victory.
Thaksin made a dramatic return to Thailand last year in what many saw as part of a deal with former rivals to keep his Move Forward party out of power.
Upon his return to Bangkok, he was sentenced to eight years in prison for corruption and abuse of power, but he never served a day in prison. The King commuted his sentence to one year shortly after his return. He was released on parole in February after serving time in hospital.
Upon his return, Thaksin clearly could not resist a return to politics. Last month, he met with Myanmar resistance groups and forced the Thai foreign minister to make it clear that the meetings were not part of Thailand's policy towards the neighboring country. He reportedly met with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim last month, and he has also been touring Thailand, hosting Thai political heavyweights in what appears to be an attempt to isolate the Forward Movement Party in the next election.
And last month, the attorney general announced he would indict Thaksin on charges of criticizing the monarchy, a law that carries a prison sentence of three to 15 years and has been frequently used against activists and, most recently, protesters who demonstrated in Bangkok in 2020.
Political uncertainty in Thailand has unsettled investors: The country's stock index has fallen about 16% over the past year, making it the world's worst-performing index over that period, according to Bloomberg.
The first charges against Thaksin were filed in 2015 by General Udomdey Sitabtul, who was then deputy defense minister in the junta that seized power in a coup a year earlier. Authorities issued an arrest warrant for Thaksin, but he had by then fled the country.
