Hearings on Thaksin’s lese majeste case set for July next year

The Criminal Court will conduct seven hearings in July next year on lese majeste allegations against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, his lawyer said.

Winyat Chartmontree, head of Thaksin’s defence team, said on Monday that the prosecution plans to present accounts from 10 witnesses, while the defence will call 14 witnesses.

A case was filed against Thaksin on June 18 of allegedly violating Article 112 of the Penal Code as well as the Computer Crime Act with comments he made to the South Korean newspaper, Chosun Ilbo, in 2015. In the interview, he blamed the Privy Council for being behind the 2014 coup that ousted his sister Yingluck Shinawatra’s government.

Thaksin appeared in court on Monday with his legal team to review the evidence and witnesses. He was granted conditional bail on a 500,000 baht guarantee after he pleaded innocence.

Winyat said one of Thaksin’s witnesses will be a Korean interpreter who can speak Thai. He added that the witness may testify via a video conference from South Korea.

The court, meanwhile, has scheduled the prosecution’s witnesses to testify on July 1, 2 and 3, while the defence witnesses will appear in court on July 15, 16, 22 and 23. Once all witnesses have been heard, the court will begin reviewing the case and drafting its verdict.

Winyat explained that the hearings have been scheduled for next year because of the court’s backlog of cases. He added that neither he nor his client was worried about the case because he had found that the prosecution has no witnesses who have actually seen Thaksin defame the monarchy first-hand. He said most of the witnesses were officials who had based their allegations on video clips, which could very well be doctored.

He added that Thaksin has confirmed that he will be present in all seven hearings to prove his innocence.

As for allegations that Thaksin was given preferential treatment at the Police General Hospital, Winyat said the former PM’s medical condition justified his treatment in a VIP room.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission received a complaint from the National Human Rights Commission, which wants a probe into whether the hospital and the Corrections Department had discriminated against other inmates by only letting Thaksin receive treatment in a VIP room for 180 days.

Winyat also said that Thaksin will not seek an out-of-court settlement in the defamation lawsuit against Warong Dechgitvirom, chairman of the Thai Pakdee Party. Warong had allegedly cast aspersions against Thaksin in several interviews. The first hearing in Warong’s case will be held on September 30, Winyat said.