Former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra will be arrested as soon as he lands tomorrow, August 22, according to officials who say outstanding arrest warrants and the result of convictions during his exile will be executed when he steps foot in Thailand.
It’s the same day that a joint sitting of parliament will meet for the third time to elect a new Thai PM, led by the Pheu Thai party, the party where Thaksin is seen as the ‘spiritual leader’.
Nation Thailand reports that there’s much speculation that officials from the Police and Corrections Department will be on hand to meet Thaksin’s private jet and will take him from Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport to the Supreme Court.
According to sources, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the former PM’s youngest daughter, and Head of the Pheu Thai Family, says she plans to meet her father at the airport tomorrow. Apparently, she’s not the only one.
Sources say the plan is to take Thaksin to the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Office and then to Bangkok Remand Prison. Officials have also put a contingency plan in place in the event that Thaksin’s jet arrives after court hours.
Should this happen, the former PM will be taken to the Police Club, where he will be kept for one night, before being taken to the Supreme Court the next day. The same sources say that on arrival, Thaksin will be detained by Immigration Police and taken to Don Mueang Police Station, where his arrest will be recorded.
From there, it’s off to the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division, where he’ll be handed over to officials from the Corrections Department. Aryut Sintopphan, director-general of the department, says Thaksin will be classified as an inmate once he’s handed over to the Bangkok Remand Prison.
The former PM will also have to carry out a 10-day quarantine period and, given his age, prison doctors will carry out checks to see if he needs to be under a doctor’s care.
In the event that Thaksin is found to have a chronic health condition, medics will decide if he should be kept in the prison hospital.
According to the report, prison wardens may also decide to only allow close family members to visit during the initial detention period. Such visits will only be permitted once officials have determined there are no contagious illnesses inside the prison.
SOURCE: Nation Thailand
