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Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been acquitted of insulting the monarchy, in a reprieve for the patriarch of the country’s most powerful political clan.
Thaksin, a billionaire telecoms magnate, had faced up to 15 years in prison under the country’s strict royal defamation law.
But a criminal court in Bangkok on Friday said the charges had been dismissed after finding no intention to defame the monarchy. The prosecution can appeal against the ruling.
The case is one of several legal problems overhanging the Shinawatra family, which has clashed for decades with Thailand’s military-royalist establishment.
Thaksin, 76, could still face prison time from a separate ruling due on September 9 over whether a period he spent in a police hospital counted towards a previous sentence.
His daughter Paetongtarn, who has been serving as Thailand’s prime minister, will receive a verdict next week in a separate case that could see her removed from office.
Thaksin’s lawyer said his legal team would prioritise each case “according to the timeline”.
“Every case at hand is all-important,” Winyat Chartmontri told reporters outside the court on Friday, adding: “I have no concerns so far.”
Thaksin, a former owner of Manchester City Football Club, served as prime minister from 2001 to 2006 until he was deposed in a military coup. He spent 15 years in self-imposed exile from corruption charges until he returned to the country in 2023.
The royal defamation case relates to comments Thaksin made in 2015 to South Korean media about a coup that forced his sister Yingluck, the prime minister from 2011 to 2014, from office.
He was indicted last year under section 112 of the Thai penal code, known as lèse majesté, which criminalises criticism of the king, queen or heir apparent.
More than 280 individuals have been charged under the law since 2020, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights. Some could face lengthy imprisonment, as each offence carries a sentence of three to 15 years.
Thaksin’s next court case in September relates to whether a stay in hospital detention after his return to Thailand was improperly counted towards his conviction on charges of graft and abuse of power.
He had originally faced eight years in prison, but his sentence was reduced by Thailand’s king to one year, and he was granted parole after serving six months.
Paetongtarn, 39, became Thailand’s youngest prime minister last year. But she was suspended in July over alleged ethical violations after former Cambodian leader Hun Sen leaked a phone call in which she appeared to blame Thailand’s military for escalating border tensions.
Those tensions erupted into several days of fighting this year that resulted in more than 30 people killed and more than 300,000 displaced.
Paetongtarn appeared in court on Thursday for a hearing on allegations of ethical misconduct related to the call. She has apologised and said her conciliatory tone towards Hun Sen was a negotiating tactic to ease the tensions. The constitutional court is due to rule on August 29 on whether she will be disqualified from office.
