Thaksin said he was not concerned about the case and was ready to fight it.
BANGKOK - Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said on June 8 he was ready to face charges of insulting the monarchy that mark a setback to a political heavyweight whose allies are currently in government.
The complaint, lodged by the royalist military that ousted the government of his sister Yingluck Shinawatra, stems from an interview the influential tycoon gave to foreign media in 2015.Thaksin said he would meet prosecutors on June 18, but he was not concerned about the case and was ready to fight it.
His is the most high-profile case among more than 270 prosecutions in recent years under the law, which carries a maximum jail term of 15 years for each perceived insult against the royal family. Thaksin founded the populist Pheu Thai party and his family's parties have won all but one election since 2001, with three Shinawatra governments toppled by coups or court rulings.Pheu Thai leads the current government, with Thaksin's business ally Srettha Thavisin serving as prime minister and his daughter, Ms Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the party's chief.
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