Thailand court grants Thaksin bail

BANGKOK — Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra avoided pretrial detention for allegedly insulting the monarchy, after a criminal court granted him bail on Tuesday.

Thaksin reported himself to prosecutors on Tuesday morning and was indicted, Prayuth Bejraguna, a spokesman for the Office of the Attorney General, said at a news conference.

A car believed to be carrying Thaksin arrived at the criminal court in Bangkok, but he did not come out to meet reporters. His lawyer Winyat Chatmontree told reporters that Thaksin was ready to enter the judicial process. The same car left the court a few hours later after Thaksin was granted bail, and again he did not meet with waiting reporters.

The court said Thaksin's bail release was approved with a bond worth 500,000 baht ($13,000) under a condition that he cannot travel out of Thailand unless he receives permission from the court.

A court statement issued later listed several reasons for allowing bail, including Thaksin's age, a permanent address in Thailand and the lack of objection from the prosecutor.

The law on defaming the monarchy, known as lese majeste, is at the heart of legal proceedings against Thaksin, who returned to Thailand last August after 15 years in self-imposed exile following his ouster from power.

"He did not commit any wrongdoing and did not defame anyone protected by article 112," Winyat told reporters, adding that Thaksin has pleaded not guilty.

The recent court cases involving politicians have put Thai politics and markets on edge, raising the specter of instability in Southeast Asia's second-largest economy that has struggled to shift gears since it was battered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the risk of an immediate political crisis appeared to have abated, and Thailand's main stock index gained more than 1 percent on Tuesday morning before trimming gains, a day after it dropped to its lowest level since November 2020.

Agencies Via Xinhua