Ex-Thai premier flees to Britain

Ousted leader skips court date

Thaksin Shinawatra faces arrest in homeland.

BANGKOK - The former prime minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, skipped a court appearance yesterday and announced he was seeking refuge in London, leaving behind more than $2 billion in assets frozen by the generals who ousted him from power two years ago.

Thailand's Supreme Court acted quickly, ordering bail money seized and issuing warrants for the arrest of Thaksin and his wife, Pojaman Shinawatra. The forfeited bail of nearly $400,000, is in addition to the more than $2 billion, already frozen by the government, money that the family unsuccessfully sought access to in recent weeks.

The absence of Thaksin's outsize presence and personality is likely to embolden his critics in Thailand, but it is far from a guarantee of an end to the political battles that have racked this country since his ouster in a 2006 coup. Millions of supporters have been irked by what they view as his political persecution.

Thaksin and his wife, who had been attending the Olympic Games in Beijing, left there for London instead of returning to Bangkok for the court appearance, according to the Thai media.

In a handwritten note read by newscasters on Thai television, Thaksin said that he feared for his life since returning to Thailand in February and that he had lost faith in the fairness of the Thai judiciary regarding the many cases brought against him by a military-appointed panel following the coup. Pojaman was recently sentenced to three years in prison for tax evasion, and the couple faces other cases for corruption and financial misdeeds.

"This is what I get for serving the country, the monarchy and the people with hard work and dedication for six years as prime minister," Thaksin wrote. A lawyer for Thaksin confirmed the note's authenticity.

"I am not perfect but I insist that I am not as bad as what they accuse me of," the letter said.

Thai officials suggested yesterday that they had no choice but to begin extradition proceedings, but legal analysts said Thaksin would be shielded in Britain by extradition laws that favor defendants.