August 20, 2008
Bangkok - Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra asked his lawyer to file the defamation lawsuit against the leaders of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD).
Thaksin was not happy with the PAD leaders as they led the demonstrators to hold a giant banner bearing photos of him and his wife Pojaman and reading “Most Wanted.”
"At this moment, Thaksin's legal team is proceeding to ask for political asylum for Thaksin and his family in Britain," said Watchara Seangprathum, one of Thaksin's Thai lawyers.
Thaksin, Pojaman and their three children flew to London last week.
Pojaman has been convicted of tax evasion, and they both face corruption charges in a property scandal.
The Supreme Court is trying Thaksin and Pojaman in absentia on corruption charges accusing him of using his political influence as premier to help his wife buy a plot of prime Bangkok real estate from the central bank at a bargain price.
Thaksin accused the Thai courts of bias, also saying he did not return to Thailand for his safety.
Authorities have already frozen 76 billion baht (2.3 billion dollars) of Thaksin's assets pending resolution of the case.
