BANGKOK: Thailand’s ruling political dynasty faces legal peril on Tuesday (Jul 1), as Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra risks suspension from office, and her father, the former premier, appears in court for a separate royal defamation trial.
The kingdom’s politics have been dominated for years by a battle between the conservative, pro-military, pro-royalist elite and the Shinawatra clan, who they consider a threat to Thailand’s traditional social order.
Thaksin Shinawatra, the 75-year-old family patriarch and billionaire twice elected leader in the early 2000s, has arrived at a Bangkok criminal court to face accusations of breaching strict lese majeste laws used to shield Thailand’s king from criticism.
The allegations stem from a 2015 interview he gave to South Korean media and could result in up to 15 years of imprisonment after a trial set to last for weeks, with a verdict not expected for at least a month after that.
A court official confirmed his arrival to AFP on Tuesday morning and said the trial had started but media would not be allowed in.
“I can’t speak on his behalf about how he feels, but I think he seems chill,” his lawyer Winyat Chatmontri told AFP outside court.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s Constitutional Court is due to meet for the first time since a group of conservative senators lodged a case against Paetongtarn, accusing her of breaching ministerial ethics during a diplomatic spat with Cambodia.
If the court decides to hear the case, they could suspend her as they enter months-long deliberations, plunging Thailand into chaos as it grapples with a spluttering economy and the threat of US tariffs.
“I will let the process take its course,” a downcast Paetongtarn told reporters in Bangkok on Monday. “If you are asking whether I am worried, I am.”
If Paetongtarn is suspended, power would pass to her deputy Phumtham Wechayachai.
The 38-year-old Paetongtarn took office less than a year ago but has been badly weakened by a scandal over her conduct in the row with neighbouring Cambodia.
