Thai court dissolves party

Heavy blow:Supporters of the Future Forward Party crying after hearing the verdict at the party’s headquarters in Bangkok. — Reuters

Thailand’s Constitutional Court dissolved an upstart opposition political party that has challenged the military establishment, finding it guilty of taking an illegal loan from its billionaire founder.

Yesterday’s dissolution of the Future Forward Party comes less than a year after Thailand held a general election to end five years of military rule and it strengthens the position in parliament of a coalition led by Prime Minister Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the former junta leader who took power in a 2014 coup.