Thai Junta Pens Letter Urging UK Government to Extradite Former PM Yingluck
The ruling Thai military junta recently penned a letter to the UK government urging them to extradite former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra to face her five-year Supreme Court sentence on corruption charges, according to The Nation.
In the letter, Thai officials make clear that the extradition is for corruption, not political reasons. Attached with the letter were copies of Yingluck’s Supreme Court conviction and arrest warrant.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha stated that ultimately the decision to extradite Yingluck is up to the UK government under the 1911 treaty between Siam and Great Britain.
Under that treaty, people accused of political offenses are exempt from extradition requests.
“We made it clear that this is a corruption case, not a political case, and hope the British authorities consider the request,” Amnart Chotchai, the director of the Office of the Attorney-General’s International Affairs Department said.
Yingluck and her brother and former Thai ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who is also wanted on corruption charges, are both believed to be residing in Thailand as fugitives.
The UK government previously ignored extradition requests from the Thai junta for Thaksin.
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