She faces criminal charges for negligence over her flagship policy of paying farmers almost twice the market rate for his or her crops.
The program brought billions of dollars to its rural constituents, nevertheless it also allegedly spawned massive bribery as middlemen sold low-value rice or overdeclared supplies to gather the subsidy. He left Thailand with huge stocks of unsold rice.
I hope that I can count on the court to think about the case based on the facts
The court will deliver its verdict on August 25, which could lead to a jail sentence of as much as 10 years for Thailand’s first female prime minister.
In an impassioned, hour-long speech to the court, Yingluck said she had implemented a program in good faith to lift the incomes of Thailand’s poorest.
Calling for the fees to be dismissed, she denied turning a blind eye to bribery, saying the case was a politically motivated attack led by junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha.
“I hope I can rely on the court to consider the case based on the facts and [political] environment when I was prime minister, not the current environment,” she said while reading a 17-page defense. “I am a victim of a subtle political game… I did not participate in corruption and I did not agree to corruption. I didn’t do anything wrong.
Her lawsuit over the outcome of government policy is unprecedented in Thailand, a hectic kingdom where legal claims and counterclaims swirl around most of the key political players.
A conviction also means an automatic lifetime ban from politics – a potential punch in the gut for the Shinawatra clan, whose candidates have won every general election in Thailand since 2001.
The Shinawatras are hated by the arch-royalist army and their supporters among Bangkok’s elite, who have resorted to coups and courts for a decade to regain power after losing elections.
The ruling will be a test of the kingdom’s stability after a decade marked by coups and bloody street protests. It also heralds the determination of Yingluck’s supporters in the face of a junta that has comfortably held them captive since it took power in 2014.
I am a victim of a subtle political game… I did not participate in corruption and I did not agree to corruption
“The trial is unfair,” said 77-year-old farmer Perm Duangchan, who traveled several hours to welcome the previous prime minister in court. “I want her to win the case so she can come back and help the country.”
In an indication of the federal government’s concern about potential unrest, tons of of law enforcement officials descended on the court on Tuesday because the 18-month trial drew to an in depth.
Yingluck has the correct to appeal against any verdict. But it’s embroiled in several other legal cases, including a civil case in search of $1 billion in damages for losses resulting from the rice policy.
The verdict could mean a sham for the close-knit Shinawatra family, whose political networks stretch across the north and northeast of the dominion.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to rule on Wednesday whether Somchai Wongsawat, who was briefly prime minister in late 2008 and is Thaksin Shinawatra’s brother-in-law, is guilty of the deadly crackdown on the protests. If convicted, he also faces prison time.
Thaksin, the patriarch of a billionaire family, is at the guts of Thailand’s deepening division. He was ousted as prime minister in a military coup in September 2006 and is currently in self-imposed exile to avoid prison for corruption in Thailand.
This article appeared within the print edition of the South China Morning Post as: Former Prime Minister Yingluck rebels against the decision
