A Thai court commanded an arrest warrant Tuesday for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on terrorism charges, accusing the fugitive leader of fomenting two months of unrest in Bangkok that left 88 people dead.
Thaksin, who was expelled in a 2006 military coup and later fled abroad following a corruption conviction, has been accused by the government of being a key force behind protests by the so-called Red Shirts who seized areas of downtown Bangkok before being overcome by army troops last week.
Details of the charges were being read out at the Criminal Court, a day after evidence by the Department of Special Investigations into Thaksin's alleged involvement in the protests.Shortly after the court proclaimed its decision, Thaksin's lawyer, the London-based Robert Amsterdam, said the government "has perverted justice through the laying of a charge that violates logic, law and any claim of hopes for reconciliation."