Thaksin slams poster of lese majeste message

Thaksin slams poster of lese majeste message

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra late on Monday night tweeted he was “extremely concerned” to learn that his name had been mentioned in a lese majeste message.

On his Twitter account @ThaksinLive, Thaksin wrote he did not know the person who posted the message, which he did not elaborate.

“I insist that I do not know that person and I have never even thought of offending the royal institution,” he wrote. 

He also condemned the method used by the poster and vowed to take every possible action against him or her for implicating him.

He concluded by saying in future he would take legal action against whoever had mentioned his name in relation to any alleged act of lese majeste.

It is not clear what message he was talking about.

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said on Tuesday he had ordered a probe into Thaksin’s claim and would look into the facts to find the wrongdoer.

The general confirmed the message had nothing to do with the group which he mentioned earlier was trying to disrupt the royal cremation ceremony.

Earlier, the new attorney general re-activated a recommendation that the fugitive former premier be indicted for alleged violation of computer crime laws and lese majeste for the interview he gave two years ago.

An informed source said Thaksin had assigned a lawyer to petition the attorney-general on his behalf on Thursday and seek a review of any decision to indict him for lese majeste.

Last Friday attorney-general Khemchai Chutiwongs, who took over the job on Oct 1, said his predecessor Pongniwat Yuthapanboriparn had recommended the indictment of Thaksin for violating Section 112 of the Criminal Code, known as the lese majeste law.

Mr Khemchai served as deputy attorney-general before succeeding Mr Pongniwat, who retired.

A previous attorney-general, Trakul Winitnaiyapak, had set up a panel of prosecutors to work with the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) to investigate the case before he retired at the end of September 2015.

In 2015, the TCSD accused Thaksin of violating the lese majeste law and the Computer Crime Act in an  interview given overseas. Thaksin lives in self-exile and is known to have a residence in Dubai.

The decision followed an interview Thaksin gave to Chosun Ilbo newspaper in Seoul on May 20, 2015. In the interview, he linked privy councillors to the May 22, 2014 military coup that ousted the Pheu Thai-led government. Thaksin was removed from office by an earlier coup in 2006.

Mr Khemchai said the next step would be for state prosecutors to request the TCSC to obtain a warrant for Thaksin's arrest. Extradition proceedings could then be launched if his whereabouts could be confirmed, he added.


Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (12)