Former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra has called again for Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to file a civil lawsuit, instead of an administrative order, to seek compensation for losses incurred by her administration's rice-pledging programme.
In an open letter to Gen Prayut published Wednesday on her Facebook page, Ms Yingluck said a trial in court would give her a fair opportunity to defend herself against the state's attempt to seize her assets as compensation, as opposed to the administrative process which she says bypasses the courts.
"I insist that I am innocent and am ready to prove it," Ms Yingluck said in the letter. "Rushing the legal process limits my chance to defend my position to the best of my abilities, which goes against basic human rights."
Opponents, however, insisted that even in the administrative process, the case would end up in court. They said Ms Yingluck also has the option to petition the Administrative Court to revoke the order, a right which experts say she is certain to exercise.
Ms Yingluck is accused by her critics of trying to distort facts by claiming the administrative process does not involve the court.
When the administrative order was first proposed last month, Ms Yingluck asked Gen Prayut in an open letter to halt the seizure of her assets and let the court process take its course.
The government claims the action is to prevent the administrative order's statute of limitations in the case from expiring next February.
Ms Yingluck argued in her letter that the prime minister might have been misinformed about the various statutes of limitations, leading him to believe the government's only course of action was to issue the administrative order as per the 1996 Act on Liability for Wrongful Acts of Officials.
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said the law clearly stated the statute of limitations related to the administrative court order lasted two years.
But now that the government has issued a new administrative order seeking damages from Ms Yingluck, the statute of limitations is not an issue, he added.
Mr Wissanu said the government's legal team determined the administrative order was issued in the best interests of taxpayers whose money was spent on the scheme.
Under the act, Ms Yingluck could be prosecuted for negligence of duty as a state official during her time as prime minister, providing legal grounds for the government to seek compensation from her for the rice scheme, the deputy premier said.
He said in February the Commerce Ministry would release its estimate of how much compensation Ms Yingluck must pay.