Tag: Yingluck Shinawatra

Former Thai Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, has pleaded not guilty in a brief hearing at the start of her trial on charges of negligence.

She faces up to 10 years in prison if found guilty of dereliction of duty over her role in a controversial rice subsidy scheme, the BBC reports.

She told crowds outside the court in Bangkok she would prove her innocence.

Ms Yingluck was forced to step down last year shortly before a military coup.

The ex-PM maintained that the charges she faces are intended to keep her out of politics. The next hearing in the trial has been scheduled for July 21.

Meanwhile, her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra – himself ousted as prime minister by a previous coup in 2006 – has made a rare public appearance in Seoul, South Korea, saying he believed “democracy will prevail” in Thailand.

Thailand’s Constitutional Court forced Ms Yingluck from office in early May 2014 after finding her guilty of abusing her power. Weeks later, the military seized power, saying it needed to restore order following months of street protests.

In January this year, Ms Yingluck was retroactively impeached by a military-appointed legislature for her role in the rice subsidy scheme. She was also banned from politics for five years.

The scheme paid rice farmers in rural areas – where her party has most of its support – twice the market rate for their crops, in a programme that cost the government billions of dollars.

Arriving at the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Ms Yingluck told journalists she was confident of her innocence.

Thailand’s ex-Prime Minister,  Yingluck Shinawatra and some family members have been detained, as leaders of the nation’s military coup tighten their grip on power.

Ms Yingluck and scores of politicians from the deposed government had been told to report to a Bangkok army base, the BBC reports.

She was kept for several hours and then driven to an undisclosed location.

Army chief, Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, also met key officials, telling them reform must come before any elections.

A Thai court has ordered Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and several cabinet ministers to step down.
The Constitutional Court ruled that Ms. Shinawatra acted illegally when she transferred her national security head.
The ruling follows months of political deadlock. Anti-government protesters have been trying to oust Ms. Shinawatra since November 2013.
The remaining cabinet members have nominated the commerce minister to replace Ms. Shinawatra.
“The cabinet has agreed to appoint Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan to act as caretaker prime minister,” Deputy Prime Minister Phongthep Thepkanjana said.
The BBC reports that Ms. Shinawatra had been accused of abuse of power in improperly transferring Thawil Pliensri, her national security chief appointed by the opposition-led administration, in 2011.
Appearing in court on Tuesday, she had rejected the suggestion that her party had benefited from the move.
But the court ruled against her, saying a relative had gained from the transfer.
“The prime minister’s status has ended, Ms. Shinawatra can no longer stay in her position acting as caretaker prime minister,” a judge said in a statement.
The ruling also ousted nine cabinet members who the court said was complicit in the transfer.

Protests have disrupted Thailand’s general election, halting voting in parts of Bangkok and the south, but officials say that 89 per cent of polling stations operated normally.

Some six million registered voters were affected by the closures, the election commission said.

The BBC reports that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra called the vote to head off weeks of mass protests.

Her party is widely expected to win but legal challenges and a lack of a quorum of MPs may create a political limbo.

Security has been heavy throughout Thailand, with vast areas under a state of emergency.

“The situation overall is calm and we haven’t received any reports of violence this morning,” National Security Council chief Paradorn Pattanatabutr told Reuters.

Security officials said about 130,000 personnel had been deployed across Thailand on Sunday, including 12,000 in Bangkok.

There has been little campaigning for the election and it was unclear how many Thais had turned out.

Ms Yingluck, who won the last election in 2011, voted soon after polls opened near her Bangkok home.

“Today is an important day,” she said. “I would like to invite Thai people to come out and vote to uphold democracy.”

But protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban said the government would be unable to declare a result because of the closures, adding: “Therefore the election is a waste of time and money.”

Thailand’s Senate has rejected a controversial amnesty bill that could have led to the return of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The amnesty would have applied to offences committed during the political turmoil after Thailand’s 2006 coup, which ousted Mr. Thaksin.

BBC reports that the bill’s passage in the lower house triggered large street protests.

And on Monday, as the bill went to the Senate, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Bangkok.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra – who is Mr. Thaksin’s sister – has promised to respect the Senate’s decision.

The bill, which was proposed by the governing Pheu Thai party, applied to offences committed during the upheaval after Mr. Thaksin was removed from office.

Ms Yingluck’s government had argued that the legislation was a necessary step towards reconciliation, after several years of political turmoil.

This turmoil included the occupation of Bangkok’s main airport in 2008 and then two months of street protests in Bangkok in 2010 that left about 90 people – mostly civilian protesters – dead.

But critics said it would allow human rights abuses – such as the killing of civilian protesters – to go unpunished.

The main opposition Democrat Party also believed it was aimed at allowing Mr. Thaksin to return to Thailand without having to serve a jail sentence.

Mr. Thaksin has been in self-imposed exile since his conviction on corruption charges over a property deal. He argues the charges are politically motivated.

The lower house backed the bill, despite an opposition boycott. But as protests gathered strength, the governing party withdrew its support from the bill and all 141 senators present voted against it.