Published 3 days ago • loading... • Updated 2 days ago

Thai court clears ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra in royal insult case, lawyer says

On August 22, 2025, a Bangkok court cleared Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand’s former prime minister, of charges related to alleged royal defamation due to a lack of sufficient evidence.
The case originated from a 2015 interview Thaksin gave while in exile and was initiated by the royalist military forces responsible for removing him from power in the 2006 coup.
Thaksin, aged 76, appeared at court smiling, wore a yellow necktie symbolizing monarchy, denied wrongdoing, and told reporters the case was "dismissed".
He faced up to 15 years in prison under lese-majeste laws, but upon arrival, he was given an eight-year term on graft and misuse of power charges, which the king later reduced to one year before he was released early in February 2024.
The verdict eased legal pressure on Thaksin, who remains politically active though without government role, while a separate court will soon rule on his daughter's political future.

Insights by Ground AI

Does this summary seem wrong?

105 Articles

Taipei Times

Lean Left

Ex-Thai PM Thaksin cleared of royal insult charges

Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan

2 days ago·Taipei, Taiwan

Read Full Article

The Epoch Times

Lean Right

Former Thai Prime Minister Cleared of Insulting Thailand’s Former King

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was acquitted of defaming the country’s former king in an interview in 2015, by a court in Bangkok on Friday. Shinawatra, 76, and his aides wore yellow ties—a color associated with the former king, Bhumibol Adulyadej, and the monarchy in general—at the hearing at the Bangkok Criminal Court, and afterward, he left without responding to questions from journalists. Shinawatra’s lawyer, Winyat Chatmontre…

2 days ago·New York, United States

Read Full Article