Yingluck Shinawatra left Thailand ahead of a Supreme Court verdict in a negligence trial brought by the junta that overthrew her, sources close to her family told Reuters.
While Thai broadcaster PBS said Yingluck Shinawatra could not attend court because of an ear infection, CNN and Reuters said she was on the run.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“She has definitely left Thailand,” Reuters said, citing a source in her Puea Thai Party.
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan told reporters that police were investigating reports Yingluck had left via Koh Chang, an island close to the Cambodian border. The Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant and rescheduled the verdict to 27 September.
If Yingluck has fled, her opponents would feel feel vindicated. “It does not help with Thailand’s division and polarisation,” Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University, told Reuters.
Thaksin Shinawatra, her brother, was overthrown in a 2006 coup and fled into exile to escape a corruption conviction. The struggle between the Shinawatra family's political movement, the Bangkok-centered royalists and the pro-military elite has caused years of turmoil in Thailand.
Arrest warrant issued for former Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra
25 August
A Thai court has issued an arrest warrant for former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra after she failed to appear in court to hear the verdict in her long-running trial on negligence charges.
Yingluck, who was deposed in 2014 during a military coup, was charged in connection with a botched rice-buying scheme, which cost Thailand billions of dollars.
She "faced up to 10 years in prison if convicted and a life ban from politics under the new military-drafted constitution," The Guardian reports.
Her lawyer told the court that she was too ill to attend, but he "did not provide a medical certificate, leading the court to refuse the excuse", says CNN.
The Supreme Court said: "We don't think that the defendant is ill. We think that the defendant is hiding or has fled."
Judges reschduled the verdict hearing for 27 September and ordered Yingluck to forfeit her bail of 30 million baht, about £700,000.
"Unlike her brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who fled the country and was convicted in absentia on corruption charges," says the New York Times, "Yingluck has remained in Thailand and fought the charges against her."
Thousands of police had been deployed in response to fears that a guilty verdict would lead to violent protests. Despite the negligence charges, Yingluck remains very popular with many Thai people.
-
The most memorable podcasts of 2025The Week Recommends A round-up of the year's top podcasts that kept listeners tuned in
-
What is Roomba’s legacy after bankruptcy?In the Spotlight Tariffs and cheaper rivals have displaced the innovative robot company
-
SiriusXM hopes a new Howard Stern deal can turn its fortunes aroundThe Explainer The company has been steadily losing subscribers
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
