Thai Court Issues Warrant for Thaksin on Terrorism Charges

An arrest warrant has been approved for ousted leader Thaksin Shinawatra by a Thia court on charges of terrorism in connection with recent anti-government protests, reported BBC.

In the nine-week protest, over 80 people have been killed and parts of Bangkok paralysed.

Thaksin, who currently lives overseas, was ousted by a military coup in 2006 and then convicted of corruption in absentia.

A large number of the red-shirt protesters who arrived in Bangkok on 14 March and shut down key parts of the city for two months are his supporters and the Thai government blames him for fomenting the unrest.

An official said that the court found that there were reasons for issuing a warrant against the ousted leader, report said.

“The court said there was enough evidence to believe that Thaksin was the mastermind, having played a significant role in instructing and manipulating the incidents,” Department of Special Investigations chief Tharit Pengdit was quoted as saying by Reuters.

However, a London-based lawyer for Thaksin said that the charges violated ‘logic, law and any claim of hopes for reconciliation’, said report.

It is not known where Thaksin lives. He travels widely, splitting his time between Dubai and Montenegro, which recently issued him with a passport.

In a separate development, authorities have extended an overnight curfew in Bangkok and 23 provinces, report said.

A curfew has been in force since the government operation to disperse protesters on 19 May and the subsequent fires and unrest across the city.

Authorities said that the curfew would run for four more nights, between the hours of 0000 and 0400, said report.