Thailand court suspends corruption case against Thaksin News
Thailand court suspends corruption case against Thaksin

[JURIST] The Thai Supreme Court for Political Appointees suspended proceedings Tuesday against former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] until he and his wife, Pojamarn, are arrested and brought into court for proceedings. Thaksin has been living in the United Kingdom since the bloodless military coup [JURIST report] that ousted him from power last year. In making the decision to stop proceedings, the court said that although the state has indicated that the extradition process should be complete in 90 days, there is no indication of when Thaksin will actually return to Thailand.

Earlier in September, the Bangkok Criminal Court issued a second arrest warrant [JURIST report] for Thaksin and his wife on corruption charges. Thaksin and Pojamarn have been accused of abuse of power for personal gain [JURIST report], conflict of interest violations, and dereliction of duty for personal gain in charges stemming from a 2003 land purchase by Pojamarn from the government-directed Financial Institutions Development Fund [official website]. Thaksin has refused to return to Thailand to face charges because he does not expect to receive a fair trial [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.

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