Two-time former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was indicted on Tuesday for insulting the monarchy, a violation under Thailand’s laws against criticising the royal family.

Mr Thaksin, leader of the ruling Pheu Thai party and a highly influential figure in Thai politics, is currently facing trial on criminal charges that attract a possible prison sentence of three to 15 years.

According to the Thai attorney general’s office, he is being tried under Thailand’s harsh lèse-majesté law that prohibits criticism of the royal family.

The former premier was accused of insulting Thailand’s monarch in an interview with the South Korean newspaper Chosun Daily nine years ago.

In the interview, he alleged that the king’s advisory body had aided the 2014 coup.

Last month, Thailand’s Attorney General reopened the case, announcing his intention to indict Mr Thaksin for violating the law against criticising the monarchy.

Mr Thaksin, 74, is deemed to have violated Article 112 of Thailand’s penal code, by his prosecutors. But Mr Thaksin has dismissed his trial as baseless.

“The case is baseless — it’s fruit from a toxic tree,” Mr Thaksin told journalists on June 8, the first time he spoke about his legal ordeal. “It’s an example that shows how charges are abused after a coup.”

Before Mr. Thaksin’s trial, Thai authorities have prosecuted activists under the same law. In 2020, Bangkok protesters were also tried under this law.