Thaksin Shinawatra’s Legal Challenges: Navigating Political Turmoil in Thailand 2024

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On a seemingly ordinary day in Bangkok, the former premier of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, found himself in the spotlight once more as he made his way to the Criminal Court. The date was August 19, 2024, and the occasion was a hearing for lese majeste charges—a legal saga that, true to form, was postponed yet again. A photo snapped by Apichart Jinakul captured the moment, a poignant reminder of the former leader’s enduring entanglement with Thai law.

As if his courtroom drama wasn’t enough to keep tongues wagging, a new chapter was in the making. The Constitutional Court had its curious eyes on a hefty 5,080-page petition submitted by Therayut Suwankesorn. On October 10, Mr. Therayut accused Thaksin of wielding undue influence over the Pheu Thai Party, the nucleus of the government coalition led by his daughter, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. Thaksin, the patriarch of this political dynasty, was named the first accused, while the Pheu Thai Party, under the guidance of his daughter, was pegged as the second.

The allegations poured forth like a summer monsoon. Thaksin was accused of pulling strings from behind the curtain of the Pheu Thai-led government, ensuring his stay at the Police General Hospital stretched on—an alternative to a penal sentence that had loomed large since his conviction for abuse of power in his earlier prime-ministerial days. The shadow of the 2006 military coup that ousted him seemed to blur into today’s tumultuous narrative.

But that was just the tip of the iceberg. Another accusation resurfaced memories from 2001, when Thaksin—then in power—inked a controversial memorandum of understanding with Cambodia. This document purportedly dictated the sharing of marine resources in disputed waters. Mr. Therayut claimed that, even today, Pheu Thai seeks to resurrect negotiations over these unsettled territorial boundaries, drawing attention to a possible revival of past blunders.

The petition wove in yet another thread, this time entwining the Pheu Thai Party with the People’s Party—an entity born from the ashes of the defunct Move Forward Party. This reincarnation had previously found itself on the wrong side of the Constitutional Court, having been accused of threatening the constitutional monarchy. Now, Mr. Therayut alleged that Thaksin was orchestrating a push for constitutional reforms through this alliance.

A subplot emerged involving secret talks allegedly held at Thaksin’s residence among coalition members. The gathering, supposedly to name a successor to former Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, had an uncanny timing, coinciding with Mr. Srettha’s dismissal by the Constitutional Court on the grounds of an ethics violation. An ironic twist of fate, perhaps?

Furthermore, murmurs abounded regarding a potential exclusion of the Palang Pracharath Party from the coalition government at Thaksin’s behest. Even more curiously, the echoes of Thaksin’s ideas seemed to ricochet in the halls of parliament. Observers noted that the government policy statement presented by Ms. Paetongtarn on September 12 unmistakably mirrored themes from her father’s dinner talk on August 22.

Mr. Therayut’s quest for accountability didn’t stop at the steps of the Constitutional Court. On September 24, he knocked on the doors of the attorney-general, requesting an official ruling to curb Thaksin’s alleged threats to the constitutional monarchy by manipulating Pheu Thai’s reign. When no action materialized after 15 days, Mr. Therayut decided to skip the middleman and appeal directly to the Constitutional Court, armed with Section 49 of the Constitution.

As the court convened, it dispatched a request to the attorney-general, seeking clarification on the progress and approach to this hefty case file. How was the evidence shaping up? Would the court accept the petition and act on it? A deadline of 15 days loomed over the attorney-general, a race against time to deliver a detailed report on the petition’s status and any steps taken.

In the grand tapestry of Thai politics, Thaksin Shinawatra remains a figure who stirs both admiration and controversy. As the courtroom drama and political intrigues unfold, the country watches, poised on the edge of its seat, eager to witness the next act in this intricate dance of power and influence.