Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's lawyers have filed another petition for fair treatment in the lese majeste case for which he will be indicted next week, claiming investigators had been influenced, according to informed sources.
Sources at the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) said on Monday that according to the petition, interrogators handling the case had faced pressure from influential people because the lese majeste complaint had been filed after the May 22, 2014 military coup by the National Council for Peace and Order.
Interrogators had not been free to question witnesses and gather evidence. They had been subject to pressure from those in power at the time, according to the petition.
The case concerned Thaksin's interview in Seoul in 2015. During the interview, he had neither mentioned the high institution nor used any insulting or hateful words. Therefore, he should not be considered as having breached Section 112 of the Criminal Code, the lese majeste law, according to the petition.
Late last month the attorney-general announced his decision to indict paroled Thaksin in the case. The indictment was postponed to June 18 as Thaksin had Covid-19 then, according to his doctors.
On Feb 19 this year Thaksin filed an earlier petition for fair treatment in the case, the day after he was paroled.
Thaksin is alleged to have defamed the monarchy in comments made during an interview with the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo on May 21, 2015, during which he claimed privy councillors supported the 2014 coup that ousted the government of his younger sister Yingluck Shinawatra.
The original complaint about the interview was made in 2015 by Gen Udomdej Sitabutr, then deputy defence minister in the military government of Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha.
Gen Udomdej instructed the Judge Advocate General's Department to bring legal action against Thaksin. A lawsuit was subsequently filed by the OAG. The Criminal Court accepted the case for trial in 2015 and issued an arrest warrant for Thaksin, who was still abroad and did not return to Thailand until August last year.
Police alleged that the comments made during the interview violated Section 112 of the Criminal Code, also known as the lese-majeste law, as well as the Computer Crimes Act.
OAG spokesman Prayut Phetcharakhun said on May 29 that attorney-general Amnat Chetcharoenrak made the decision to indict Thaksin on both charges, as proposed by police.
The computer crime charge stems from Thaksin putting information into a computer system that was deemed a threat to national security, Mr Prayut said. They were unable to indict Thaksin at the time because his lawyer submitted a medical certificate showing his client had Covid-19 and needed to rest. He sought a postponement until June 15.
Mr Prayut said prosecutors have ordered the former prime minister to appear at the OAG at 9am on June 18 to begin the indictment process.
