BANGKOK — Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was granted release on bail hours after he was formally indicted Tuesday on a charge of defaming the country's monarchy in one of several court cases that have unsteadied Thai politics.
The law on defaming the monarchy, an offense known as lese majeste, is punishable by three to 15 years in prison. It is among the harshest such laws globally and increasingly has been used in Thailand to punish government critics. Thaksin returned to Thailand as the Pheu Thai party, seen as his political machine, joined hands with its longstanding rivals in the conservative establishment to form a government. The minimal punishment that he faced was interpreted as part of a deal to keep the progressive Move Forward party, which finished first in last year’s election, out of power, though no deal was publicly acknowledged.
Move Forward is now facing dissolution after the Election Commission asked the Constitutional Court to rule whether it is guilty of attempting to overthrow the system of constitutional monarchy by campaigning to amend the lese majeste law.
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