Thai Prime Minister Ousted by Constitutional Court
- Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra faces ongoing legal challenges amid a history of political upheaval and restrictions on speech critical of the monarchy.
- Thaksin Shinawatra, the exiled former Prime Minister of Thailand, recently avoided punishment for alleged lèse-majesté offenses dating back a decade.
- The lèse-majesté law, Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code, prohibits any act that "defames, insults or threatens the King, Queen, Heir-apparent or regent." It carries a potential...
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Thaksin Shinawatra‘s Legal Battles and Thailand’s Political Landscape
Table of Contents
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra faces ongoing legal challenges amid a history of political upheaval and restrictions on speech critical of the monarchy.
Thaksin Shinawatra’s Recent Legal Challenges
Thaksin Shinawatra, the exiled former Prime Minister of Thailand, recently avoided punishment for alleged lèse-majesté offenses dating back a decade. However, he is scheduled to face further court action in September 2024. This comes after his return to Thailand in August 2023 following 15 years in self-imposed exile (Reuters, August 22, 2023).
The lèse-majesté law, Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code, prohibits any act that “defames, insults or threatens the King, Queen, Heir-apparent or regent.” It carries a potential sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment per offense. Critics argue the law is overly broad and used to suppress political opposition (Human Rights Watch, January 13, 2021).
The Lèse-majesté Law and Political Suppression
The submission of the lèse-majesté law has been a central point of contention in Thai politics for years.The move Forward Party, a progressive political party that gained significant popularity in the 2023 general election, was poised for a potential victory but was ultimately blocked from forming a government, in part due to its stance on reforming the law. The party was dissolved in 2017 for attempting to amend the law.
According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, ther has been a significant increase in lèse-majesté cases since 2020, with over 200 individuals facing charges