Thaksin will be arrested upon arrival - Police
21 Aug 2023 10:21pm
Thaksin Shinawatra - FILE PIX
The 74-year-old Thaksin is expected to arrive at the Don Mueang International Airport on a private jet at 9 am (local time).
National Police Chief Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittipraphat said the Immigration Police would take Thaksin into custody and transfer him to the Metropolitan Police Division 2 where a record of his arrival would be made.
He said the former prime minister would be escorted to the Supreme Court to be confirmed as wanted under court warrants.
He said the court would then issue a detention warrant and hand him over to the Correction Department and he would then be moved to the Bangkok Remand Prison pending further legal proceedings.
"Security will be tight throughout the procedures,” he said.
Thaksin’s supporters have been camping outside Don Mueang International Airport on Monday.
Local media reported a large number of red-shirt supporters of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) from several provinces will travel to the airport to greet the former prime minister on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Judiciary Office spokesman Sorawis Limparangsi said Thaksin is expected to arrive at the Supreme Court at 10.30 am (local time) and the courtroom will be open to only plaintiffs and the defendant's relatives.
He said all media personnel would have to wait outside the court.
"The Supreme Court will issue a press statement on the case, including details of the court's consideration of the case,” he said.
Meanwhile, Bangkok Remand Prison announced today that it would suspend inmate visitation at the prison tomorrow to step up security in the area where Thaksin is expected to be transferred.
It is expected that a large number of Thaksin's supporters will gather in front of the jail, which is on Ngamwongwan Road in Chatuchak district.
Thaksin posted on X (twitter) that he will be back in Thailand on Tuesday at 9 am (local time)
"I am seeking permission to return to Thailand and live on Thai soil and breathe the same air as my Thai brothers and sisters,” he wrote.
Thaksin, who served as prime minister from 2001 to 2006, has been living in exile since 2008 spending most of his time in Dubai after his government was ousted in a military coup led by General Sonthi Boonyaratglin.
He fled Thailand in August 2008 to avoid facing time in prison for several criminal cases. He faces up to 10 years in jail for his convictions by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions in three separate cases - BERNAMA
