28 Sep 2017 | 09:51 PM UTC
Thailand: Border controls tightened after former PM flees verdict /update 1
Military junta orders border controls to be tightened after former prime minister fails to appear before Supreme Court August 25
Event
Former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has reportedly fled justice after failing to appear before the Supreme Court in Bangkok on Friday, August 25, claiming to be ill. The Court has issued an arrest warrant and has delayed the verdict to September 27. The ruling military junta has tightened border controls around the country and ordered a nationwide manhunt.
Context
Thousands of supporters that had gathered in front of the Supreme Court on Friday quickly dispersed once it was announced that Shinawatra would not appear in court. The former prime minister is on trial for negligence after implementing a rice scheme that paid farmers nearly twice the market rate for their crop, leaving Thailand with a huge stockpile of overvalued rice. Sister of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, she rose to power in 2001 and was later ousted by a military coup in 2014, led by junta leader and current Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha.
Advice
Individuals in Thailand are advised to keep abreast of the situation and to be prepared for longer waiting times at Thai borders, including in airports.
