Thai ex-PM acquitted of royal insult charges

Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was cleared Friday of royal defamation charges, relieving one of the threats to his embattled dynasty, which has dominated Thai politics for two decades.

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Thaksin's family has long jousted with the nation's pro-military, pro-monarchy elite, who view their populist movement as a threat to Thailand's traditional social order.

Their tenure as a defining force in Thai politics has unfolded in a saga of coups, street protests and court cases as they have grappled for the kingdom's levers of power.

The 76-year-old Thaksin had faced up to 15 years in prison under laws criminalizing criticism of King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his family, but was cleared after a trial that unfolded over two months.

"The court dismissed the charges against Thaksin, ruling that the evidence presented was insufficient," his lawyer Winyat Chatmontree told reporters at Thailand's Criminal Court in Bangkok.

But his dynasty remains on the ropes, with his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra currently suspended as prime minister and facing her own reckoning next week with a court decision due that could see her thrown out of office.

Thaksin left court ahead of his lawyer, smiling and telling the press his case had been "dismissed" without providing any further comment.