Indicted for insulting monarchy

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's lawyer Winyat Chartmontri speaks to the press after Shinawatra was granted bail in a case of allegedly violating the royal insult law in Bangkok, Thailand June 18, 2024. REUTERS/Patipat Janthong

Prosecutors formally indicted influential former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra (pic) under the kingdom’s strict royal insult laws over comments he made nearly a decade ago.

The case against the 74-year-old billionaire, twice elected premier and ousted in a 2006 military putsch, is one of four before the courts that could unleash fresh political instability in the coup-prone kingdom.