Ousted Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra Found Guilty

Deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra faced a widely watched judgment day on Tuesday when a court was scheduled to deliver the first verdict in a corruption case since his removal in a 2006 coup.

Thaksin, who is living in self-imposed exile in London, would not be present at court. He and his wife jumped bail in August and fled the country saying they could not get a fair trial in Thailand.

The Supreme Court's landmark ruling could make Thaksin the first politician to be convicted of corruption committed while prime minister, but it is not expected to provide closure to the country's deepening political crisis, which revolves around him.

Thaksin faces charges of abuse of power and conflict of interest for allegedly facilitating his wife's purchase of lucrative Bangkok real estate from a state agency in 2003, while he was prime minister.

If found guilty, Thaksin could face up to 23 years in prison. But analysts say he is unlikely to ever serve time behind bars.

Tight police presence was planned outside the Supreme Court to prevent possible clashes between Thaksin supporters and opponents, deputy Bangkok police chief Maj. Gen Amnauy Nimano told reporters.

Anti-government protesters have been camped at the prime minister's office compound in Bangkok for nearly two months, demanding that all vestiges of Thaksin's legacy be abolished.

The government of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat has been virtually paralized by the protests. Somchai, who is Thaksin's brother-in-law, is accused of being his proxy.

The court case Wednesday stems from former first lady Pojaman Shinawatra's 772m baht ($23m at current exchange rates) purchase of a 5.3-hectare (13.2-acre) plot of land in central Bangkok. It was estimated to be worth three times that amount.

She bought the land from the Financial Institutions Development Fund, a government agency set up to bail out debt-ridden banks.

He was found guilty of a conflict of interest charge in relation to a land deal involving his wife Pojaman.

She bought a lucrative piece of Bangkok land from a state agency while he was still in office in 2003.

Thaksin was not in court for the ruling after he fled into exile in Britain in August but was convicted and sentenced in absentia.

He said that he had expected a jail term and claimed the case was politically motivated.

A Thai court found former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra guilty of corruption Tuesday and sentenced him to two years in prison, deepening the country's paralyzing political crisis.

The guilty verdict was the first against the country's former leader since he was ousted by a 2006 military coup after being accused of corruption and abuse of power.

Thaksin was ousted in a September 2006 coup and is now in exile in Britain. The Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 to say that former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra knew about the land purchase by his wife from the Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF).