BANGKOK, June 18 — Influential former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a powerful backer of the ruling government, was formally indicted on Tuesday for allegedly insulting the monarchy in a 2015 media interview, a spokesman for the attorney-general's office said.
It is the first of four high-profile cases involving key political players that are before the courts on Tuesday, in the latest legal wrangling that could see Southeast Asia's second-largest economy plunged into a new period of uncertainty.
The cases involve some of Thailand's most powerful politicians, including its current prime minister, and could deepen a decades-old rift between the conservative-royalist establishment and its opponents, such as the populist ruling Pheu Thai party and the opposition Move Forward party.
"The prosecutor has sent the suspect to court," Prayuth Bejraguna from the Attorney General's office told reporters, referring to the 74-year-old Thaksin.
Thaksin, who denies any wrongdoing, could face pre-trial detention if he is denied bail by a criminal court, following the indictment.
Thailand's lese-majeste law, one of the world's toughest, carries a maximum jail sentence of up to 15 years for each perceived royal insult.
— Reuters
