Thai authorities say they plan to indict Thaksin Shinawatra for allegedly insulting the country’s monarchy, in a challenge to the ruling coalition dominated by the populist former prime minister’s party.
The charges from the attorney-general’s office highlight the long-standing political rivalries within Thailand’s ruling alliance, which is comprised of Thaksin’s Pheu Thai party and his former opponents in the conservative military-royalist establishment. They also come just three months after Thaksin was granted parole on a corruption conviction.
Thaksin, 74, will be required to appear in court on June 18 to be indicted under the country’s lèse majesté law, which protects the monarchy from insult and carries a maximum jail term of 15 years. He will also be charged for violating a computer crime law, Reuters reported on Wednesday.