Thai court to rule on case that could remove PM from office

Embattled Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra appeared in court yesterday to defend herself against charges of abuse of power over her transfer of a leading security official.

The southeast Asian nation’s constitutional court was due to rule today on the case, and the verdict could remove her from power and ban her from politics for five years, deepening the nation’s long-running political crisis.

Earlier this year, a lower court ruled that Ms Yingluck had improperly transferred national security chief Thawil Pliensri in 2011 – he was appointed by the previous administration and had been critical of Ms Yingluck's administration.

“I deny the allegation ... I didn’t violate any laws, I didn’t receive any benefit from the appointment,” Ms Yingluck told the court yesterday.

Thailand has been in turmoil since the latest round of anti-government protests began late last year. The protesters – a mix of Bangkok's middle class, monarchists, and southerners led by former Democrat politician Suthep Thaugsuban – want to abandon plans for an election on July 20th, which they would surely lose, and replace Ms Yingluck's government with an unelected "people's council".

The protesters accuse Ms Yingluck of being a puppet of her brother Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister who was ousted in a 2006 coup amid anti-government protests. He lives in exile in Dubai to avoid jail for a corruption conviction.

The opposition, which has called itself the People's Democratic Reform Committee, accuse the Shinawatras of using populist policies such as rice subsidies to secure the support of rural voters.

Ms Yingluck called a snap election in February which her party had been expected to win, but the poll was disrupted by protesters and was subsequently annulled.

The opposition courts and various agencies have been proceeding with a number of cases filed by the opposition that might push Ms Yingluck and possibly her ministers from office. The prime minister is also facing several other legal challenges.

Ms Yingluck and her supporters believe the opposition is trying to stage a coup by using the constitutional court. “There is co-operation between some political parties, the PDRC and some agencies under the constitution to perform a new form of coup by destroying democracy, obstructing elections, and acting with bias and injustice,” her Pheu Thai Party said.

All eyes are on the military, which has kept its distance so far, to see if it will intervene.