Thailand’s former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, has flown out of Bangkok simply days earlier than a Supreme Court docket ruling that might see him imprisoned, deepening turmoil for his household’s political motion as parliament prepares to decide on a brand new chief.
Police confirmed the 76-year-old billionaire boarded a non-public jet from Don Mueang airport on Thursday night, round 7pm native time, saying no court docket orders had been stopping him from leaving.
Flight-tracking information confirmed his aircraft, numbered T7GTS, initially headed in direction of Singapore however then travelled over Malaysia and made various loops on the Andaman Sea earlier than diverting west.
Mr Shinawatra later posted on-line that he was travelling to Dubai for “a well being check-up” however was held up at Thai immigration for a number of hours.
He stated the pilot modified course for Dubai after being knowledgeable it was too late to land at Singapore’s Seletar Airport, which closes at 10pm native time.
“In Dubai, I’ve my common orthopedic physician and pulmonologist, whom I’ve been seeing for a very long time. It additionally gave me the chance to go to buddies I haven’t seen in over two years,” he stated in an X publish in Thai.
He added that he intends to return to Thailand “no later than 8 September to attend court docket in particular person on 9 September”.
Mr Shinawatra constructed certainly one of Thailand’s strongest political dynasties earlier than being ousted in a 2006 coup. He spent 15 years in self-imposed exile earlier than returning residence in 2023 to serve a lowered corruption sentence after his daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, was elected prime minister.
He was freed on parole in early 2024 after simply months in hospital, fuelling criticism that he had acquired particular remedy. The court docket will rule subsequent week on whether or not his hospital keep ought to depend as time served.
His departure comes at a fraught second for the Pheu Thai occasion he based. Final week, his daughter was dismissed as prime minister after judges dominated she had breached ethics throughout a leaked name with Cambodia’s former chief Hun Sen.
It was the sixth time a Shinawatra-backed premier has been pressured from workplace in twenty years of political upheaval, and the third time a member of the Shinawatra household particularly had been ousted.
On Friday, parliament is predicted to vote on Ms Shinawatra’s substitute. Pheu Thai has nominated former justice minister Chaikasem Nitisiri, however faces a serious problem from the Bhumjaithai Get together’s chief, Anutin Charnvirakul, who has secured assist from the principle opposition. Analysts count on Mr Charnvirakul to emerge victorious, placing an finish to Pheu Thai’s spell in energy.
