Shinawatra dynasty faces court tests that may upend politics

Thailand's billionaire Shinawatra family is bracing itself for a series of high-stakes court decisions starting Aug. 22 that could test its political resilience, with the prospect of an early election and prolonged trouble for the country's stuttering economy.

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BANGKOK -

Thailand's Shinawatra political dynasty has been at the heart of two decades of intermittent turmoil and its latest battles will culminate in rulings that could unseat Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra for an alleged ethics violation and put her influential but polarizing father Thaksin Shinawatra back in prison.

A court will rule on Aug. 22 if Thaksin, during a 2015 media interview, had insulted the powerful monarchy, a serious crime in Thailand that carries lengthy jail terms of up to 15 years for each offense.

Another court will decide 18 days later if the tycoon's 2023 detention in a VIP hospital wing, instead of jail, means his prison sentence for abuse of power and conflicts of interest was not fully served.

Both Shinawatras have denied any wrongdoing.

Unfavorable verdicts for Ms. Paetongtarn, 39, and Thaksin, 76, a divisive backroom operator and driving force behind the government, could reduce the family's bargaining power and lead to an earlier-than-scheduled election, which their once formidable Pheu Thai party is not in the best shape to contest.