Yingluck cries foul as top court issues arrest warrant over 2011 Thawil transfer case
In a tweet on Tuesday, former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra lamented about being constantly targeted for a decision she had made as an elected PM.
“Thailand is the only country in the world in which an elected prime minister faces legal action for transferring a permanent official. #ถูกกลั่นแกล้งไม่จบ [#ceaselesslypersecuted],” her tweet read.
She was responding to the arrest warrant the Supreme Court issued against her for ordering the removal of then-National Security Council chief Thawil Pliensri in 2011.
The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Office had issued summonses for Yingluck to be present in court on Tuesday to plead her case. However, since she was absent, the court issued an arrest warrant against her.
Public prosecutors filed a charge against Yingluck on July 20 this year, accusing her of abusing her authority and thus violating the Criminal Code’s Section 157 by “unlawfully” removing Thawil as NSC secretary-general. Thawil was shifted to the inactive post of PM adviser in September 2011.
The court accepted the suit on September 21 and issued summonses for Yingluck to enter her plea on Tuesday.
The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Office also set March 14, 2023, as the date for both sides to check each other’s evidence.
The saga began in 2012, when Thawil filed a complaint with the Central Administrative Court against Yingluck’s order dated September 30, 2011, transferring him to the PM’s Office as an adviser.
He alleged that he had been transferred to an inactive post because a new role was being sought for then-National Police chief Pol General Wichean Potephosree.
His complaint alleged that Wichean had been shifted to make way for Pol General Priewpan Damapong, the older brother of Thaksin Shinawatra’s ex-wife Potjaman na Pombejra.
In June 2013, the administrative court nullified Yingluck’s transfer order and reinstated Thawil to NSC’s top post.
