Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will not attend this Friday’s inquiry, which has been set by the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Office to examine the enforcement of his prison term, his lawyer said.
Winyat Chartmontri said the Court has not issued a summons, requiring Thaksin to appear at the hearing, so Thaksin does not have to show up, and had approved Thaksin's request, to extend the deadline for submitting written evidence and supporting documents, to May 23.
Speculation that the hearing would be delayed, due to the extension of the submission period, is inaccurate, Winyat added, and it will proceed, as scheduled, this Friday, with Winyat representing Thaksin.
In a surprising move, on April 30, the Supreme Court ordered an inquiry into Thaksin’s controversial six-month stay at the Police General Hospital, despite having dismissed the original petition on the grounds that the petitioner was not a directly injured party.
The Court stated that, since doubts remain regarding the enforcement of Thaksin’s imprisonment by the Corrections Department, it has the authority to initiate an inquiry.
The Court has also summoned the governor of Bangkok Remand Prison, where Thaksin was supposed to serve his sentence, the director-general of the Corrections Department, the chief doctor at the Police General Hospital and the prosecutor involved in the case, to appear on Friday.
Meanwhile, security at the Court will be increased, as a large media presence is expected.
