The Attorney-General said on Wednesday that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will be indicted convicted under Section 112 of the Criminal Code, or lèse majesté law and computer crime charges arising from an interview he gave in South Korea in 2015, three months after he was freed on parole on other charges.
The spokesman for the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG), Prayut Pecharakun, said at a news conference this morning that the OAG has decided to indict Mr Thaksin but the OAG has agreed to postpone his indictment before the Criminal Court to June 18, on the grounds that the suspect has COVID-19 and his doctor has advised him to rest until June 3.
According to the procedure, once a suspect is formally charged by a prosecutor, they will immediately be brought before the court to be indicted.
Following the announcement, Mr Thaksin’s lawyer said his client was ready to fight the charges in accordance with the justice system.
Mr Thaksin, who served as prime minister from 2001 until he was ousted in a military coup in 2006, returned to Thailand last August after 15 years in self-imposed exile and was taken into custody.
Mr Thaksin was sentenced to eight years in prison but his sentence was later reduced to one year. In February, he was released from detention after being granted parole, having served just six months in a police hospital. (TNA)
