BANGKOK, Aug 22: Thailand’s criminal court has dismissed charges against former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a royal defamation case, Al Jazeera reported.
Thaksin, 76, was accused of violating the country’s strict lese-majeste law during a 2015 interview with foreign media, where he commented on the 2014 coup that toppled his sister Yingluck Shinawatra’s government. The charges were brought by the royalist military.
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“The case was dismissed,” Thaksin told reporters after the ruling, smiling as he left the courthouse. His lawyer, Winyat Chatmontree, confirmed, “The court dismissed the charges against Thaksin, ruling that the evidence presented was insufficient,” Al Jazeera quoted him as saying.
According to Al Jazeera, the Bangkok court later confirmed it had found the evidence inadequate. Thaksin has consistently denied any wrongdoing and reiterated his loyalty to the monarchy, which is regarded in the Thai constitution as being in a position of “revered worship.”
The case was among the most prominent of more than 280 prosecutions filed in recent years under lese-majeste laws. Critics argue that these laws are often used to stifle dissent and weaken political opponents, while royalists maintain they are necessary to safeguard the crown, Al Jazeera said.
Though retired, Thaksin remains influential in Thai politics. He returned in 2023 after 15 years in self-imposed exile but continues to face legal scrutiny. In September, the Supreme Court will decide if his six-month detention in hospital, served before parole last year on earlier abuse-of-power charges, should count as jail time. If not, he could be required to return to prison.
Meanwhile, his daughter and current Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra faces her own legal test next week. The Constitutional Court will rule on an ethics case linked to a leaked phone call with Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen.
