JURIST - Paper Chase: Thailand protesters accuse authorities of stalling ex-PM corruption trial

[JURIST] More than 3000 members of the People's Alliance for Democracy rallied outside of the Royal Thai Police Headquarters in Bangkok on Monday, calling for a speedy resolution to the corruption trials of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. According to a Bangkok Post report, the National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC) [official website] has also expressed impatience with delays in Thaksin's trials. The Commission has said that it may bring charges against him without waiting for Office of the Attorney General [official website, in Thai] to file additional indictments. AP has more. TNA has local coverage.

Despite the delays, Thaksin has already been indicted on several counts of corruption. In June, the Committee recommend that two new charges be brought [AP report] against Thaksin, one for using his position to secure a $127 million loan to benefit a company owned by his family, and another for corruption related to the purchase of approximately $43 million worth of rubber trees. In March, Thaksin pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to separate corruption charges stemming from a 2003 land purchase by his wife Pojamarn from a government-directed institution despite a ban on officials making business deals with government agencies. In February, Thaksin returned to Thailand from self-imposed exile to face corruption charges laid against him after he was ousted in a military coup [JURIST reports] in September 2006.

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