Thaksin petition is ‘dismissed’ by OAG

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has rejected lawyer Teerayut Suwankesorn’s petition, which claimed that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the Pheu Thai Party tried to overthrow the constitutional monarchy, a source has claimed.
The source said Attorney General Phairach Pornsomboonsiri has signed a response to the Constitutional Court on Mr Teerayut’s petition requesting the court rule in accordance with Section 49 of the constitution.
Through the alleged collusion, Thaksin was accused of manipulating Pheu Thai, the party now led by his daughter, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. However, Thaksin is not a member of the party and is barred by law from meddling in its business.
The court sent a letter to the attorney general requesting information on how the petitioners’ requests have been processed and how much evidence has been collected. The OAG sent a letter to the court on Nov 8 containing information on the examination of witnesses on both the petitioners’ and defendants’ sides.
There was also an opinion that this matter did not meet the criteria for overthrowing the government, said the source. The attorney general, therefore, ordered not to proceed as requested, which was in line with the opinion of the working group that had previously submitted it to the attorney general.
Section 49 of the constitution states no person shall exercise the rights or liberties to overthrow the democratic regime of government with the King as Head of State. Any person who has knowledge of an act shall have the right to petition the attorney general to submit a motion to the Constitutional Court for an order to cease such act.
If the attorney general orders a refusal to proceed as petitioned or fails to proceed within 15 days of receiving the petition, the person making the petition may submit the petition directly to the Constitutional Court.
This means that, even if the attorney general decides not to proceed as requested, the Constitutional Court will still have the authority to hear the case, the source said.
The Constitutional Court has scheduled a hearing to consider whether to accept Mr Teerayut’s filed petition on Friday.
Former red-shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan said on Tuesday that he believes the court will accept the case for consideration.
Mr Jatuporn said the public would have to wait and watch if the court ordered the prime minister and three ministers, of whom he did not give the names, to be suspended. This would result in significant political upheaval, he said.
Tourism and Sports Minister Sorawong Thienthong, in his capacity as Pheu Thai secretary-general, denied that Thaksin dominated any party members as he has no real involvement with the party.