THE GOVERNMENT has asked the United Kingdom to extradite fugitive former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra for prosecution in Thailand.

The Thai Embassy in London sent a letter dated July 5 to the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, with attached copies of the Supreme Court verdict in the case against Yingluck, along with her arrest warrant.

The letter cited a 1911 treaty between the United Kingdom and Siam – as Thailand was formerly known – on the extradition of fugitive criminals.

A copy of the Thai Embassy’s letter was published on the BBC Thai news website yesterday.

The Thai mission said it acted on instructions from the Thai government.

However, Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said yesterday the embassy’s action was part of “normal procedures, and not a policy matter, so they didn’t need to inform me”. The process had started with requests from police and public prosecutors, he said.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday that the decision on whether Yingluck will be extradited lies with the British government.

Thai law enforcers have no authority to make any arrest in a foreign country, he said.

“The government has done everything we can under the legal framework. The foreign country involved will decide whether to send back [Yingluck] as requested,” Prayut said at Government House.

Don said yesterday he did not recall seeing any document seeking his approval on the matter. He also dismissed suggestions that the action stemmed from Prayut’s meeting with UK Prime Minister Theresa May during his recent visit.

When asked if he was confident the UK authorities would extradite Yingluck, Don just smiled and walked away.

When approached by The Nation yesterday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Busadee Santipitaks |said she had no comment on the matter.

Amnart Chotchai, director of the Office of the Attorney-General’s International Affairs Department, said his office coordinated with the Foreign Ministry for the extradition of Yingluck in accordance with the protocol.

“We made it clear that this is a corruption case, not a political case, and hope the British authorities consider the request,” he said.

The current treaty prohibits extradition for political offences.

Amnart said his office made similar requests for the extradition of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck’s brother, but failed to receive a response.

In its letter to the UK foreign ministry, the Thai Embassy gave assurances that the case against Yingluck was not of a political or a military nature. “She has not been given a pardon or amnesty. And the arrest warrant for the defendant to serve her sentence is not affected by a statute of limitations,” the letter said.

The embassy also asked that its request be “kept strictly confidential and executed as a matter of urgency”.

The Thai mission also maintained that Yingluck’s extradition could be granted under the treaty even if the British government considered that her offence was not included in the list of extraditable offences.

The embassy cited a clause in the treaty stating: “Extradition may also be granted at the discretion of the State applied to in respect of any other crime for which, according to the law of both the Contracting Parties for the time being in force, the grant can be made.”

Yingluck is believed to be residing in the UK. Photos and video clips of her in different locations around London have been distributed on social media. One video clip shows Yingluck with her older brother ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra celebrating his birthday last week.

Thaksin also has been living in self-exile overseas, escaping imprisonment after also having been convicted at home.

Yingluck fled the country in August last year, a few days before the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division on Political Office Holders was scheduled to deliver a verdict in the case against her.

In September, the court sentenced Yingluck to five years in jail for malfeasance in connection with her government’s corruption-plagued rice-pledging scheme.

During his visit to the UK in June, Prayut said Thai nationals should not live as “second-class citizens” overseas while escaping Thai law. He did not identify Thaksin or Yingluck by name.

“They should come back and fight under the law,” he said.

The tycoon-turned-politician said that he would continue making comments on political issues in his regular online broadcasts through his Facebook fan page.

“It’s the right of everyone,” he said, adding that the content of his broadcasts would not be toned down.

Thanathorn was speaking to the media when he and other Future Forward leaders met police officers investigating an allegation that he had violated the Computer Crime Act.

The ruling junta – the National Council for Peace and Order – recently filed a police complaint against Thanathorn and some other Future Forward figures.

The complaint came after Thanathorn had accused the NCPO of taking advantage of other political players by making moves such as wooing former MPs while political parties are being restricted by a junta ban on political activities.

In his speech broadcast on June 29 through his and his party’s Facebook fan pages, Thanathorn also asked followers to join his campaign against what he called “injustice”.

His move was deemed to be a violation against the law in provoking public disturbance through a computer system.

He was questioned by investigators from the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) at the Chaeng Wattana Government Complex.

In his Facebook message, the young politician said he did not think the NCPO accusation against him was convincing.

He reasoned that the accusation was caused by a fear of change and that “people who cannot accept changes are trying to obstruct us in every way”.

But, “Nobody can stop changes or prevent people who want to dictate their own future,” he added.

Thanathorn, speaking to the media at the TCSD, said he viewed the NCPO’s legal action against Future Forward as an acknowledgement that the party “is a force in this society”.

He did not think the legal action would adversely affect his party in any way, while none of his party’s figures were discouraged by the incident, he added.

Thanathorn, who is expected to become Future Forward’s first party leader, also accused the NCPO of attempting to postpone the next general election while restricting political activities.

He said that if the junta wanted to restrict political freedom, it should look at Cambodia, where the ruling party won all parliamentary seats up for grabs in the just-completed general election.

“If the NCPO wants to do the same, they should not hide in the cloak of democracy while acting as a dictatorship,” he suggested.

The selection result will now be submitted to National Legislative Assembly (NLA) president Pornpetch Vichitcholchi for him to seek royal endorsement.

The voting by the election commissioners came after the NLA earlier this month had endorsed five candidates to become EC members.

The previous batch had been dismissed by the new organic law governing the electoral agency.

Ittiporn, 62, had been director of the Treaties and Legal Affairs Department under the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Prior to that, he had served as the Kingdom’s ambassador to Kenya and the Netherlands.

Among the five successful EC candidates, the veteran diplomat had also gained the most votes, 186, from the NLA at the endorsement stage three weeks ago.

The commission, however, is still left with two vacancies as the law requires that it be comprised of seven members.

After royal endorsement, the NLA is expected to proceed with the selection of another two election commissioners.

Previously, controversy arose over the voting for an EC president with only five members on the commission.

The NLA and the Constitution Drafting Commission, however, insisted it was legitimate.

The law allowed the selection although the agency only had five members, they said.

The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) earlier this month approved only five members for the EC, leaving the panel with two vacancies.

The two frontrunners are former judge Chatchai Chanpraisri and former provincial governor Tawatchai Terdphaothai.

With his judicial background, Chatchai is considered able to lead the electoral agency. Tawatchai has had extensive experience in helping organise elections as a governor.

A candidate winning at least three votes would become the EC’s president.

Only after the president is selected can the list of incoming EC commissioners be submitted for Royal endorsement. After that, the NLA would proceed to select the final two candidates to fill the vacant seats.

Meanwhile, Ongart Klampaiboon, among other critics, has argued that the selection of a panel president should occur only after all seats have been filled to avoid future questions. This would also allow all members to decide together who would take the lead, he said. Although first filling the empty two seats would delay the process, Ongart said it would not affect the EC’s work because the outgoing commissioners were still in place as caretakers.

Suthep Thaugsuban, a key leader of the Action Coalition of Thailand Party (ACT), yesterday expressed confidence that the pro-military party would be a part of the next government. The upcoming election would see no outright winner, and so the only form of government possible would be a coalition, he said at a reforms-focused seminar hosted by his People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) Foundation.

“The most attractive party that truly represents the people [is] us, the one and only party everybody [will] love to join with to form a government,” Suthep said.

Asked if ACT would join Pheu Thai if the Shinawatra-backed party won the most seats, Suthep said he could confirm that Pheu Thai would not be a part of that government.

Suthep made the comments after former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, a figure said to be still influential in Pheu Thai, recently expressed confidence that the party would win a landslide victory in the next election.

“That’s what Thaksin says but this is what I say,” said Suthep, formerly a key member of Pheu Thai’s arch-rival Democrat Party and the leader of the controversial PDRC movement that paved the way for the ouster of the Pheu Thai government almost five years ago.

Suthep refused to answer a question on whether the ACT would join with the Democrat Party to form a government. He explained that he was no longer a Democrat and would rather not talk about his past affiliation.

Suthep said the ACT next Sunday would hold an assembly to vote for the party’s executives. While it is widely speculated that respected political scientist Anek Laothamatas would take the lead in the party, Suthep said it was up to party members to vote.

Some 500 members were expected to join this first assembly, he said.

Meanwhile, secretary of the so-called Sam Mitr (Three Allies) group, Pirom Pholvises, yesterday said General Prayut Chan-o-cha could be as popular as former PM Thaksin. Sam Mitr is believed to be enticing former MPs from different parties to form a political party to back Prayut in the next election.

Some members of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) in the Shinawatra camp strongholds such as the northeastern province of Kalasin, have also signalled they were willing to join the pro-Prayut team if it would bring improvements for the locals, Pirom claimed.

“Though they say the Northeast loves Thaksin, we see that some of them love Prayut, too,” Pirom said.

If the government showed good performance, Prayut could even become the permanent PM for the rest of his life, Pirom said.

Wissanu said the drafting of the six bills was almost complete. They would be submitted to the Cabinet within next month for approval before being forwarded to the National Legislative Assembly the same month.

He said after the bills are enacted, it would be up to the Election Commission to decide the timing of elections to the local administration bodies nationwide by taking into account the schedule of the national election.

The National Council for Peace and Order suspended all local elections after it seized power in May 2014.

Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong said that he had met with politicians on different occasions, including during this week’s Cabinet retreat in Ubon Ratchathani province. He added that he had discussed with them what should be done for the country.

Sontirat said that in Ubon early this week he met Supol Fong-ngam, a former Pheu Thai Party MP for the northeastern province.

Supol defected from Pheu Thai and voiced his support for Prime Minister Prayut.

Sontirat said the government needed to talk with and listen to politicians, because politicians are close to the people. Input from politicians allows the government to learn about the needs of people in different areas of the country, he added.

Such information would help the government to determine what should be done during its remaining time in power, said the commerce minister.

“We [the government] have to work with all sides. In fact, many political parties want General Prayut to be prime minister [again]. But what we have to do is to make sure that the different parties have the chance to help push this government’s policies continuously, such as the mega-projects like the Eastern Economic Corridor [EEC],” Sontirat said.

“We want government policies to be implemented without interruptions. We want the country to move forward,” Sontirat said. “One of the problems of our country is lack of continuity in government policies. And that’s a weak point for Thailand.”

He did not confirm his reported connection with Palang Pracharat, a political party in the making whose founders are planning to nominate Prayut as their prime ministerial candidate at the next election.

Sontirat dismissed as a rumour media reports that he was going to become secretary-general of Palang Pracharat.

“When I am ready to accept the position, I will tell the media. I have not made my decision,” he said.

When asked about the progress of the new party in the making, Sontirat said he would talk to the media about the matter “when the time is right”. He added that he would base his decision on the future situation.

Meanwhile, Prayut, who also heads the ruling junta National Council for Peace and Order, yesterday said that the public “should not allow bad people to besiege Government House again”.

The PM did not elaborate, but he was clearly referring to anti-government protesters who often gathered around the government head’s office to press their demands.

Most previous governments over the past decade shared the same experience, with rival yellow-shirt and red-shirt protesters taking turns to rally outside Government House.

Prayut was speaking to a group of people helping clean the perimeter walls of the premises. “We are cleaning up Government House already. Don’t allow bad people to surround it again,” he said.

The premier also said that his actions had no political motives, as he aimed to create benefits for the country as a whole.

“This government has no desire to benefit anyone in particular,” he added.

The Prayut administration has held several mobile Cabinet meetings outside Bangkok in the past four years. But as the election draws near, the trips have become more frequent, averaging about one a month recently. The increased regularity of the meetings has led to speculation that the junta is campaigning for the next election and trying to win popularity as well as woo former MPs to join parties that support it.

In previous trips, the junta has met with local leaders and politicians to discuss issues. But, after accusations of MP poaching and other criticism, the agenda for the mobile Cabinet this month in Ubon Ratchathani, Amnat Charoen, Srisaket and Yasothorn did not include such sessions.

“I’m not here to take any offers. I’m here to listen to the people,” Prayut said yesterday in a press briefing after the weekly Cabinet meeting.

In a bid to win popularity ahead of the election, critics also said, the junta was on a spending spree, allocating trillions in taxpayers’ money to thousands of projects in the provinces. Prayut rejected the criticism yesterday.

He said the four Isaan provinces had proposed projects involving transportation, irrigation, industry, tourism and public welfare. They are reportedly worth more than Bt10 billion combined. Prayut said the government accepted the proposals and would consider how to allocate the budget.

Some of the projects already had a budget in other master plans, especially those involving logistics, he said. For other proposals, the government would look into it.

“It’s the people’s demands and the government is in charge of allocating the budget to meet them,” Prayut said. “But I don’t just want everyone to be pleased with the government. I’d rather everyone is satisfied with their participation in the administration.

This case stems from the Krungthai Bank loan scandal involving Thaksin’s government, which was deposed by a coup in 2006.

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI), following an investigation into a complaint made by the Anti Money Laundering Office (Amlo) in 2016, has decided to charge Panthongtae, Kanchanapa Honghern and her husband Wanchai Honghern for money laundering. Kanchanapa was formerly personal secretary to Panthongtae’s mother, Khunying Potjaman Na Pombejra.

DSI officials on Wednesday accompanied the three to meet public prosecutors at the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). The DSI produced many boxes of evidence.

Originally, Amlo also accused Kanchanapa’s mother Kesinee Jipiphob of money laundering. But the DSI has decided not to charge her, without giving a reason.

Panthongtae, Kanchanapa and Wanchai allegedly received combined money transfers of Bt36 million from the Krisda Mahanakorn property group, which had secured loans of over Bt8 billion from the state-owned Krungthai Bank.

It had been found that the loans were approved dishonestly by senior executives of the bank, who were later jailed.

Thaksin, who is self-exiled overseas, is one of the 27 defendants in the criminal case stemming from the loan scandal.

After accepting the case from the DSI, public prosecutors told the three defendants to report on September 5, OAG deputy spokesman Prayuth Phetkhun said.

He added that before that date, the defendants would have to show up every time the public prosecutors have an appointment with them.

The spokesman said a special prosecutor in charge of the case would study the DSI’s investigative report before a decision on indictment would be made.

The prosecutors working on the case would also consider whether to agree with the DSI decision not to charge Kesinee – originally the fourth suspect – for money laundering, according to the spokesman.

In February last year, DSI brought charges against 13 other individuals and legal entities for money laundering in connection with the Krungthai loan scandal.

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha said after the meeting that Prawit had suffered only minor dyspepsia.

Two military doctors rushed into the meeting venue at Ubon Ratchathani University to check on General Prawit, it was reported.

Soon after, medics were seen taking equipment inside the building from an ambulance already on stand-by. After 20 minutes, they returned the equipment to the ambulance.

Officials also prepared and cleared the road in case of emergency.

The incident broke out on Tuesday as the mobile Cabinet meeting was in session in Ubon Ratchathani Province.

Deputy Prime Minister Prajin Juntong later reported that Prawit had had a stomach ache and diarrhea. Only after he had completed his presentation to the Cabinet did Prawit ask the Premier to allow him to go to hospital, said Prajin.