Thaksin Shinawatra Faces Indictment for Monarchy Insult

Thailand's attorney-general will indict former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for allegedly insulting the monarchy based on a 2015 interview. This development is a setback for Thaksin, whose loyalists are currently in government. His lawyer cited a COVID-19 infection as the reason for his absence at the hearing.

Thailand's attorney-general will indict former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for allegedly insulting the monarchy, an official said on Wednesday, in a setback to a political heavyweight whose loyalists are currently in government.

The complaint, lodged by the royalist military that ousted the government of his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, had stemmed from an interview the influential tycoon gave to foreign media in 2015.

Thaksin's lawyer, Winyat Chartmontri, told Reuters that his client could not appear at Wednesday's hearing due to a COVID-19 infection.