Thailand's Supreme Court has sentenced Yingluck Shinawatra to five years in jail for criminal negligence in a rice subsidy program. The former prime minister was tried in absentia after fleeing the country.
Image: Reuters/A. Perawongmetha
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The nine judges on the bench of Thailand's highest court on Wednesday unanimously found Yingluck guilty of negligence over her government's rice subsidy scheme that cost the country billions and led to the toppling of her administration.
"The accused knew that the government-to-government rice contract was unlawful but did not prevent it," the Supreme Court said in a statement. "Which is a manner of seeking unlawful gains. Therefore, the action of the accused is considered negligence of duty."
Yingluck, who pleaded innocent, is believed to have fled the country last month to avoid jail. She is unlikely to serve any of her sentence.
The court said Yingluck "should have designated reasonable and effective regulations that could concretely prevent loss from the beginning of the program."
- The court said Yingluck knew that members of her administration had falsified government-to-government rice deals but did nothing to stop it.
- A former commerce minister in her government was jailed for 42 years last month in connection with the scheme.
- Yingluck insisted the charges were politically motivated.
Her government was overthrown in a military coup in 2014. Yingluck's brother, Thaksin, also led an elected government that was ousted by the military and lives in exile to avoid a jail term on corruption charges.
Yingluck Shinawatra is still popular among rural votersImage: Reuters/J. Silva
What was the rice scheme?
The rice scheme was a key campaign pledge, launched after Yingluck took office in 2011.
- The government bought rice from farmers over and above-market prices, leading to stockpiles of the grain and distorted global prices of the commodity.
- It was popular with her rural voter base, but critics complained it was too expensive and susceptible to corruption.
- Losses amounted to $8 billion (€6.81 billion), the government said.
Yingluck sentencing: The downfall of Thailand's Shinawatra family
Former Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra has been sentenced to five years in jail. DW looks back at the scandal that toppled Thailand's most influential political family and raised questions about the future of Thai democracy.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/N. Sangnak
A Thai political dynasty with rural support
Yingluck's brother, Thaksin Shinawatra is a wealthy businessman and former PM of Thailand. As founder of the Pheu Thai party, he was popular among rural poor, but unpopular among rich elite. In 2006, Thaskin was accused of fraud and ousted in a military coup. He fled Thailand in 2008 and faces two years in jail if he returns. Shinawatra-affiliated parties have won every Thai election since 2001.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo
Yingluck's rise into politics
As successor to her brother, Yingluck Shinawatra was elected as PM of Thailand in 2011. She enjoyed the popularity of Taskin's base but was also targeted by his opponents, who accused her of being a political proxy for her exiled brother. Before she was elected as Thailand's first female PM, she had never held a political position or government post.
Image: dapd
The rice scandal
Yingluck's flagship policy, which helped her win the 2011 election, was a rice subsidy program aimed at her base where the government paid poor farmers 50 percent more for rice with the intention of providing a minimum wage. The plan backfired with regional competitors undercutting Thai rice exports, resulting in huge stockpiles and alleged losses to the state of $17 billion (14.25 billion euros).
Image: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images
Yingluck thrown out of office
In May 2014, Yingluck was ousted from office by the Thai constitutional court after it ruled she had abused power in transferring a senior aide to another position. This was combined with months of public protest against a proposed amnesty bill for those involved in violent protests after her brother was forced from power. The Thai military took power and they continue to rule the country.
Image: Reuters
Yingluck's supporters wear red
The "red shirt" protesters, who are loyal to the Shinawatra family, oppose Thailand's elite, royalist class backed by the military. Yingluck's supporters see the moves against her as an attempt to finally oust the family from power and eliminate its political influence in Thailand.
Image: AP
The royal loyalists in yellow
Loyalists to the Thai royal family, ruling elite and military are known as "yellow shirts." They say that the Shinawatras abuse their power for their own gain and accuse them of creating populist policies to attract the poor electoral majority in Thai society. They consider this a threat to the traditional ruling class. Multiple clashes between reds and yellows have resulted in dozens of deaths.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/N. Sangnak
Yingluck follows her brother into exile
In 2015, Yingluck was charged with criminal negligence and dereliction for her role in the failed rice subsidy scheme. She was also impeached for the same charges, and not allowed to participate in Thai politics for five years. She fled Thailand in August 2017, before a ruling on her case was to be announced. In September 2017, she was sentenced, in absentia, to five years in jail.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/L. Suwanrumpha
Thailand's uncertain future
Thai politics has been dominated for over a decade by a power struggle between the traditional elite and the Shinawatra family. Political scientist Wolfram Schaffar told DW that the goal of pursuing the Shinawatras has been to "weaken elements of direct democracy." Other experts say that Yingluck's exile leaves Thailand without an opposition figure and allows the military to rule indefinitely.
