BANGKOK (Realist English). Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was acquitted on Friday of charges of insulting the monarchy, a case that had threatened him with up to 15 years in prison under the country’s stringent lèse majesté law.
A criminal court in Bangkok ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove intent to defame the monarchy. Prosecutors retain the right to appeal. Thaksin’s lawyer, Winyat Chartmontri, told reporters that the legal team would address each case “according to the timeline,” stressing: “Every case at hand is all-important … I have no concerns so far.”
The 76-year-old billionaire and former telecoms tycoon, once the owner of Manchester City Football Club, served as prime minister from 2001 until he was ousted in a military coup in 2006. He spent 15 years abroad in self-imposed exile before returning to Thailand in 2023. The royal defamation case stemmed from remarks he made in 2015 to South Korean media regarding the coup that removed his sister Yingluck Shinawatra, who served as prime minister from 2011 to 2014.
Thaksin still faces significant legal challenges. On September 9, a separate court ruling will determine whether time he spent in a police hospital counted toward his corruption sentence. His original eight-year prison term was reduced by royal pardon to one year, after which he was released on parole in 2024.
Meanwhile, his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thailand’s youngest prime minister, is embroiled in her own legal battle. Suspended from office in July over alleged ethical violations, she appeared before the constitutional court on Thursday to testify regarding a leaked phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen. Critics say the conversation, in which she appeared to blame Thailand’s military for border tensions, demonstrated misconduct.
The court is expected to rule on August 29 whether she will be disqualified from office. The controversy follows deadly border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia earlier this year, which left more than 30 people dead and forced over 300,000 from their homes.
The Shinawatra family has long been at the center of Thailand’s political conflict, clashing with the entrenched military-royalist establishment. Despite Friday’s acquittal, the family remains under heavy legal and political pressure.
