![Ex-Thai PM Thaksin to face trial for royal insult](https://www.berlinertageblatt.de/media/shared/articles/02/2f/76/Ex-Thai-PM-Thaksin-to-face-trial-fo-995211.jpg)
-
'Windmill love' sees Dutch artist become mill operator
-
US defends law forcing sale of TikTok app
-
Messi out for defending champ Miami as Leagues Cup begins
-
Australia bans uranium mining at Indigenous site
-
Divers attempt to reach sunken Philippine oil tanker
-
Trump accuses Harris of anti-Semitism in overblown speech
-
Blinken set for talks with Chinese foreign minister in Laos
-
Coughlin clings to lead at LPGA Canadian Women's Open
-
Trump offers tech sector policy flips ahead of election
-
Spacecraft to swing by Earth, Moon on path to Jupiter
-
What's the fallout of Mexican drug lords' capture?
-
Video game makers see actors as AI 'data,' says union on strike
-
Chinese qualifier Shang to face Thompson in ATP Atlanta semis
-
Concern grows as Venezuela blocks election observers
-
'Massive attack' on French rail threatens more chaos
-
'We did it!': France breathes sigh of relief after Olympics ceremony
-
Blinken, in Laos, set for talks with Chinese foreign minister
-
Regional concern grows as Venezuela blocks vote observers
-
Historic river parade, Dion show-stopper ignite Paris Olympics
-
Rainy Paris Olympic parade dampens many spectators' spirits
-
G20 pledges to work together to tax ultra-rich
-
The one of a kind Paris opening ceremony: five memorable moments
-
Justin Timberlake seeks to dismiss DUI case
-
Warner Brothers Discovery sues NBA over Amazon rights deal
-
Kobe Bryant locker, Maradona jersey up for auction in New York
-
Historic river parade launches Paris Olympics
-
Stocks rise as US inflation data boosts rate cut hopes
-
New York family of Holocaust victim reclaims Nazi-looted art
-
NASA Mars rover captures rock that could hold fossilized microbes
-
Thousands evacuate season's biggest wildfire in northern California
-
Sinaloa Cartel co-founder pleads not guilty after stunning US capture
-
Ethiopia mourns victims of landslide tragedy
-
Lady Gaga adds sparkle to star-studded Olympic show
-
Airbus and Boeing supremacy secure despite turbulence
-
Teams sail down Seine in rain-soaked Olympics opening ceremony
-
Norris hoping for more after topping Belgian practice times
-
West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third Test
-
Trump slams rivals as he meets Netanyahu in Florida
-
Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine
-
Mott's England future uncertain as ECB chief fails to offer support
-
Trump meets Israeli PM Netanyahu in Florida
-
S.African police say 95 Libyans detained at suspected military camp
-
Blinken set for talks with Chinese counterpart in Laos
-
Norris heads Piastri in McLaren one-two at Belgian GP practice
-
G20 seeks common ground on taxing super-rich
-
European medicines watchdog rejects new Alzheimer's drug
-
Harris gets vital Obama backing in battle against Trump
-
Habib, Ebden eye Alcaraz and Djokovic shocks at Olympics tennis
-
Stocks rise as inflation data boosts rate cut hopes
-
Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris opening ceremony
![Ex-Thai PM Thaksin to face trial for royal insult](https://www.berlinertageblatt.de/media/shared/articles/02/2f/76/Ex-Thai-PM-Thaksin-to-face-trial-fo-995211.jpg)
Ex-Thai PM Thaksin to face trial for royal insult
Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will be prosecuted for insulting the monarchy, the attorney general's office said Wednesday, over comments he made almost a decade ago.
Prayuth Pecharakun, spokesman for the attorney general, said Thaksin would be summoned to court on June 18 to answer charges under the kingdom's strict lese-majeste laws.
Thaksin, 74, is a two-time premier who was ousted in a 2006 coup and then lived in self exile for 15 years.
He returned to Thailand last year as his Pheu Thai party took power at the head of a coalition government.
"The attorney general has decided to indict Thaksin for insulting the monarchy," Prayuth told reporters.
"The attorney general cannot bring him to court today, as his (Thaksin's) lawyer said he has Covid."
Thailand has some of the world's strictest royal defamation laws protecting King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his close family, with each charge bringing a potential 15-year prison sentence.
Thaksin's lawyer, Winyat Chatmontree, said he would fight the charges.
"He is ready to prove his innocence in the justice system," Winyat told reporters.
Critics say the lese-majeste laws are abused to stifle legitimate political debate, and there has been a spike in their use since youth-led anti-government street protests in 2020 and 2021.
More than 270 people have been charged with lese-majeste since the protests, accoridng to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.
- Divisive figure -
The case against Thaksin relates to comments he made in 2015 to South Korean media and is the latest in a series of legal battles he has fought.
When he returned to Thailand in August last year, the billionaire former Manchester City owner was jailed on graft and abuse-of-power charges dating back to his time in office.
But his return to the kingdom, on the very day Pheu Thai's Srettha Thavisin came to power as PM in alliance with pro-military parties, led many to conclude a deal had been done to cut his jail time.
The rumours grew when the king soon cut Thaksin's sentence from eight years to one, and he was freed on parole earlier this year.
Thaksin insists he has retired, but he has made numerous public appearances since his release and still casts a long shadow over the kingdom's politics.
For the past two decades, Thai politics has been largely defined by a tussle for dominance between the kingdom's pro-royalist, pro-military establishment and Thaksin and his allies.
His critics suspected him of pulling strings in the kingdom during his exile, which he spent mostly in Dubai.
His daughter, Paetongtarn, is now head of the Pheu Thai party and has been tipped as a possible future PM.
Last year's general election was the first time in more than 20 years that a Thaksin-linked party failed to win most seats, beaten into second place by the progressive Move Forward Party.
But pro-establishment forces in the senate blocked MFP's leader Pita Limjaroenrat from becoming prime minister, paving the way for Pheu Thai to take power and shut the newcomers out of government.
O.Krause--BTB