Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra cleared of defaming monarchy

Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been acquitted of insulting the monarchy, in a reprieve for the patriarch of the country’s most powerful political clan.

 Thaksin, a billionaire telecoms magnate, had faced up to 15 years in prison under the country’s strict royal defamation law. 

But a criminal court in Bangkok on Friday said the charges had been dismissed after finding no intention to defame the monarchy. The prosecution can appeal against the ruling. 

The case is one of several legal problems overhanging the Shinawatra family, which has clashed for decades with Thailand’s military-royalist establishment. 

Thaksin, 76, could still face prison time. A ruling due on September 9 will determine whether his stay in hospital detention last year counted towards a previous sentence for graft and abuse of power.

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