Thaksin indicted as Thailand braces for court cases

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.
Thaksin, who denies any wrongdoing, could face pre-trial detention if he is denied bail by a criminal court, following the indictment.