Mr Shinawatra and his wife Potjaman have had their British visas revoked The British government has revoked the visas of the former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife. An e-mail sent to airlines from the British embassy in Bangkok told them not to allow the couple to board flights to Britain. Mr Thaksin was deposed in a military coup in 2006, and travelled to Britain. He has since been convicted by a Thai court on corruption charges and sentenced in absentia to two years. His wife faces three years for tax evasion. A Thai foreign ministry official told the Reuters news agency: "The foreign ministry has checked the reports with British authorities and they have confirmed that the visas were revoked." But Mr Shinawatra's spokesman, Phongthep Thepkanjana, said: "I spoke with Thaksin's secretary and he said that Thaksin still had not been notified by the British government." The Home Office and the British Embassy in Bangkok said they would not comment on individual cases. Mr Thaksin is thought to be travelling in East Asia - a week ago he made a telephone address to more than 60,000 supporters packed into a Bangkok sports stadium. Multiple charges For much of the past two years Mr Thaksin and his family have lived in the UK. He has not only invested in expensive properties here but also bought Manchester City Football Club, which he sold in August. Following the withdrawal of their visas Mr Thaksin and his wife will now be forced to find a new home. The cases against Thaksin include corruption charges related to the purchase of state land by his wife, abuses of power over government money, concealing assets and tax evasion. The former leader retains a lot of support in rural areas of Thailand, but also has many detractors who would like nothing more than to see him in jail.
Bookmark with: Delicious
Digg
reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version
Informationen von Nachrichtenagenturen zufolge hat die Britische Regierung die Visa für den ehemaligen thailändischen Ministerpräsidenten Thaksin Shinawatra und seine Frau Pojaman zurückgezogen. Thaksin, der sich zurzeit auf einer Reise durch Asien befindet, hatte nach seiner Entmachtung durch eine Militärjunta im September 2006 Zuflucht in London gesucht. Hier hat er in erheblichem Umfang Immobilien sowie den britischen Fußballclub Manchester City erworben, den er inzwischen wieder verkauft hat. Die britische Botschaft in Bangkok sowie die Regierung in London wollten den Vorgang nicht kommentieren. Die in Thailand erscheinende englischsprachige Zeitung „The Nation“ zitiert in ihrer Onlineausgabe aus einer E-Mail, die die britische Grenzkontrollbehörde (UK Border Agency) an verschiedene Fluggesellschaften geschickt haben soll und in der es heißt, dass die Visa für Thaksin Shinawatra und seine Frau für nichtig erklärt worden seien und in der Fluggesellschaften angewiesen werden, die genannten Personen (mit Angabe der Passnummern) nicht nach Großbritannien zu transportieren.

Thaksin war im Oktober 2008 vom obersten thailändischen Gericht wegen Korruption zu zwei Jahren Haft verurteilt worden (Wikinews berichtete). Bereits vor der Urteilsverkündung hatte sich der Ex-Premier aus Thailand abgesetzt.