Yingluck Shinawatra’s shocking courtroom triumph: Acquitted and warrant revoked

Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has emerged victorious in the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division, shattering legal expectations and leaving political pundits in disbelief.

Not only has she been acquitted of malfeasance, but a once-looming arrest warrant has also been revoked.

The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions delivered a bombshell verdict yesterday, December 26, clearing former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra of malfeasance charges related to the 2011 transfer of a National Security Council secretary-general. The court ruled that Yingluck’s actions were not part of a sinister plot but rather a routine personnel move, stating she had no intention of causing damage.

This sensational decision saw the court not only acquit Yingluck but also revoke an arrest warrant issued when she failed to appear for trial in November the previous year.

The alleged abuse of power dates back to September 30, 2011, when Yingluck, then prime minister, ordered the transfer of Thawil Pliensri from NSC secretary-general to an adviser to the prime minister. The subsequent appointment of Police General Wichean Potephosree as NSC head triggered a series of events leading to a proposal from Yingluck for her close relative, Pol. Gen. Priewphan Damapong, to become the National Police chief.

The tangled web of legal battles began when Thawil challenged the transfer order in the Supreme Administrative Court, which subsequently ordered its revocation. The Constitutional Court, in a unanimous decision, deemed Yingluck’s involvement an abuse of power, leading to her removal from the premiership.

Fast forward to July 1, 2020, and the National Anti-Corruption Commission weighed in, alleging Yingluck’s dishonesty in carrying out her duties. The case then escalated to the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions, culminating in the now-reversed arrest warrant.

In exile

Yingluck, who has been on the run since August 2017, claimed persecution in the Thawil case and cried foul over the arrest warrant. Her legal woes intensified with a five-year sentence for dereliction of duty in a massive rice-pledging programme scandal, resulting in losses exceeding 500 billion baht, reported Bangkok Post.

Amidst the legal chaos, her elder brother Thaksin Shinawatra returned to Thailand in August after 15 years of self-imposed exile. His homecoming, however, was met with an eight-year prison sentence, later reduced to one year through royal clemency.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, a lawyer, weighed in on Yingluck’s potential royal pardon, emphasising the necessity of her return to Thailand and engagement with the justice system.