Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra speaks during an interview in Singapore in February 2016. Photo: Reuters
Source:
https://scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3022058/fugitive-ex-thai-prime-minister-yingluck-shinawatra-given Southeast Asia
Fugitive ex-Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra given Serbian citizenship
- Yingluck fled Thailand in 2017 before being convicted and sentenced to five years in jail over corruption-related charges
- With a Serbian passport, she can travel without a visa to more than 100 countries, including most members of the EU
Former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra greets supporters as she arrives at the Supreme Court in Bangkok in August 2017. Photo: Reuters
Fugitive former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was sentenced in Thailand to five years in prison on corruption-related charges, has received Serbian citizenship.
Local magazine Nedeljnik published an image of a government document dated June 27 that said Yingluck had “obtained Serbian citizenship”. It appeared to be signed by Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic.
State news agency Tanjug reported on Thursday that the Serbian government made the decision “because it could be in the interest of Serbia”. A government decree confirming she was granted citizenship was published in June in Serbia’s official gazette.
Serbian officials did not comment on the reason behind the decision. Yingluck’s spokersperson could also not immediately be reached.
Yingluck fled Thailand in 2017 days before she was convicted of running a rice subsidy scheme that cost Thailand billions of dollars. She and her supporters say the trial was a witch-hunt led by a junta keen on rooting out her family’s political influence.
She skipped bail and reportedly went to London via Dubai, where her billionaire brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, lives in self-imposed exile after fleeing Thailand also facing corruption charges.
She has also been seen in Hong Kong and Japan, among other places. Her current whereabouts are unknown.
With the Serbian passport, she can travel without a visa to over 100 countries, including most members of the European Union.
The siblings were both elected premier, but were toppled in military coups – Thaksin in 2006 and Yingluck in 2014. Although they live in exile, the two retain significant support in rural and poorer parts of Thailand.
Thaksin has citizenship of another Balkan country, Montenegro, which he received in 2009.
Associated Press and Agence France-Presse