Thailand: Court acquits Thaksin Shinawatra in royal insult case

A Bangkok court has acquitted controversial billionaire and former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was accused of insulting the monarchy.

The charge related to an interview he gave to a South Korean newspaper ten years ago. He would have faced up to 15 years in jail if convicted.

Thailand’s lese majeste law forbids insulting its monarchy. But critics say it is often used to target activists and political opponents.

The verdict came as Thaksin’s daughter, suspended PM Paetongtarn , faces a Constitutional Court decision on whether or not she should be removed from office. These cases pose a threat to the Shinawatra clan, which has been a dominant force in Thai politics for decades.

Friday’s verdict has brought some relief to the family and their supporters.

Winyat Charmontree, a lawyer acting for Thaksin, told reporters that after the verdict was read out in court, his client had smiled and thanked his lawyers. He had also said he was now able to work for the country’s benefit.

The charge against Thaksin was originally filed under the then-military government in 2016, when he was in exile, and re-activated last year after his return to Thailand.

At first glance the case against him seemed weak.

In the South Korean newspaper interview, the former prime minister said he believed the 2014 military coup which deposed the elected government of his sister Yingluck – just as he had been deposed by a previous coup in 2006 – had been instigated by “some people in the palace” and members of the privy council, the 19-member body which advises the Thai king.

Technically the privy council is not covered by the lese majeste law, which states that it is an offence to defame only the king, queen, heir to the throne or anyone acting as regent.

However, in recent years the law has been invoked to criminalise any action or statement which might reflect negatively on the monarchy as an institution.

In the past people have been prosecuted for making unfavourable comments about the late King Bhumibol’s dog and about a Thai king from the 16th Century.

More recently, a young woman was sentenced to five years in prison for placing a banner criticising the budget to help those affected by Covid close to a portrait of King Vajiralongkorn.

The interpretation of the law has become so broad that human rights groups view it as a political tool, which can be used to intimidate and silence those who challenge the status quo.

Many believed this was what was happening to Thaksin.

However, the judges chose to interpret the wording of the law literally, and said that as the defendant had not named names, he should be acquitted.

This verdict comes exactly two years after the former prime minister’s dramatic return from 15 years of exile.

At the time it was assumed there had been a grand bargain struck between Thaksin and his long-time conservative adversaries, so that his party Pheu Thai, which in the 2023 election had been relegated to second place from its usual number one spot, could form a coalition government and keep the young reformists who had actually won the election out of power.

The terms of that bargain have never been made public –Thaksin has always insisted there was no deal – but it is likely they included an agreement that he would keep a low profile and stay out of politics.

But a low profile is something completely alien to the flamboyant, wealthy and ambitious tycoon.

He is still believed to be the largest funder of Pheu Thai and makes all of the main decisions for the party.

When his first choice of prime minister, businessman Srettha Thavisin, was disqualified by the persistently interventionist Constitutional Court a year ago, Thaksin’s inexperienced daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra took the helm, becoming Thailand’s youngest ever prime minister.

A self-described “daddy’s girl”, she said she would happily take his advice. As she took office Mr Thaksin announced his “Vision for Thailand”, including a controversial proposal to legalise casinos; much of that subsequently became official policy.

The parliamentary opposition has accused the Shinawatra family of running a “dual leadership”. Thaksin’s business ties to the Cambodian strongman Hun Sen also raised concerns over how firmly his government would defend Thailand over the border dispute between the two countries.

This came to a head in the private phone conversation leaked by Hun Sen in which Paetongtarn was heard referring to him as “uncle”, and criticising her own army commander on the border, for which she has now been suspended by the Constitutional Court, which will decide whether she is dismissed in a week’s time.

Losing another prime minister after just a year, at a time of great global uncertainty, might be judged as too risky. It is not clear who would replace Paetongtarn.

Thaksin faces another court case next month, over his transfer to a hospital to serve a previous jail sentence. The price for him being allowed to stay out of jail may be that his party has to call an early election, at a time when its poor performance in government could result in it losing many of its seats in parliament.