Thailand's Supreme Court issued arrest warrants for exiled Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife on corruption charges
yesterday.
The nine-judge panel ordered him to be produced in court by
September 25, the starting date of the trial of Thaksin and his
wife, following his failure to meet yesterday's deadline for a
voluntary appearance.
Extradition proceedings would be considered if Thaksin, who has
kept a high profile by buying English Premier League football club
Manchester City from his exile home in London, did not appear by
the new deadline, prosecutor Seksan Bangsomboon told reporters.
Thaksin, ousted in a bloodless coup last year, and his wife
Pojaman, face charges summarized as "misconduct of a government
official and violation of a ban on state officials being party to
transactions involving public interests".
They stem from Pojaman's 772 million baht (US$22.3 million)
purchase of land in central Bangkok while he was prime minister
from a unit of the Bank of Thailand in a 2003 auction at which
other bidders dropped out.
The couple has denied the charges and Thaksin, who has said
frequently to general disbelief in Thailand that he has quit
politics, says he will not return to Thailand until democracy is
restored.
Thaksin's lawyers argued the land case should be postponed to
next year, or 30 days after a new government took office following
a general election promised for December. They argued Thaksin could
not get a fair trial with the military in charge.
Thaksin's return before the election could also cause trouble
between supporters who swept him to two landslide election
victories and opponents, they said.
Coup leader and army chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin gave an
assurance that Thaksin's safety would be guaranteed on his
return.
If convicted, Thaksin, a telecommunications billionaire banned
from politics for five years after his party was found guilty of
electoral fraud, could face 10 years in jail and a 60,000 baht
(US$1,800) fine.
The charges stem from a ruling by the Asset Examination
Committee set up after the coup that Thaksin and Potjaman broke
anti-graft laws preventing politicians in office doing business
deals with state agencies.
The committee wants the court to annul the deal, return the land
to the central bank and confiscate the money involved.
(China Daily via agencies August 15, 2007)
