Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra testified before the Bangkok South Criminal Court on 16 July in a royal defamation case that could put him behind bars for up to 15 years. Prosecutors allege Thaksin violated Thailand’s strict lèse-majesté laws when he made comments to South Korean media roughly a decade ago. The 75-year-old politician, who returned from 15 years of self-imposed exile in 2023, is expected to continue giving evidence over several days; the court said it would issue a ruling next month. The trial comes at a fraught moment for the Shinawatra family. On 1 July the Constitutional Court suspended Thaksin’s daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, from her duties as prime minister while it reviews a separate ethics complaint. The simultaneous legal pressures have further weakened the clan’s political influence after decades of rivalry with Thailand’s royalist and military establishment. Thaksin was previously sentenced to eight years for corruption and abuse of power upon his 2023 return, a term later reduced to one year by royal pardon. In recent interviews he reaffirmed loyalty to the monarchy and expressed gratitude for the king’s clemency, positions that underpin his defence against the latest charge.