Thai Ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra Faces New Indictment Amid COVID-19 Diagnosis

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is set to face new charges for defaming the monarchy and violating the Computer Crime Act. His indictment was postponed due to a COVID-19 diagnosis. Thaksin, who returned from exile in 2008, recently served a partial sentence for corruption-related offenses.

Thai prosecutors on Wednesday said former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will be indicted for defaming the monarchy, three months after he was freed on parole on other charges.

Thaksin will not yet be indicted because he had filed a request to postpone his original appointment on Wednesday with proof that he has contracted COVID-19, said Prayuth Bejraguna, a spokesperson for the Office of the Attorney General, at a news conference.

The attorney general's office scheduled a new appointment for Thaksin's indictment on June 18, Prayuth said, adding that Thaksin will also be indicted for violating the Computer Crime Act.

Thaksin had been in self-imposed exile since 2008, but returned to Thailand in August last year to begin serving an eight-year sentence. He was released on parole in February from the hospital in Bangkok where he spent six months serving time for corruption-related offenses.