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Ex-PM's wife set for Thai trial Wife of ousted Thai PM on trial
(about 7 hours later)
The wife of ousted leader Thaksin Shinawatra is to stand trial in Thailand for alleged violation of stock-trading laws and a land sale. The wife of ousted Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra has pleaded not guilty to corruption in a Bangkok court.
Pojamarn Shinawatra returned from exile earlier this month while Mr Thaksin remained overseas. Pojamarn Shinawatra and her husband both face charges relating to two separate financial cases.
He has promised to return later this year when he will face similar charges. The pair went into exile overseas after the military seized power in 2006, accusing Mr Thaksin of corruption.
The political party formed by Mr Thaksin's associates won last month's general election, the first since the military coup that deposed him in 2006. But Pojamarn Shinawatra returned to Thailand earlier this month, after a party loyal to her husband won the most votes in December's elections.
It is expected to form a government over the next week. The People Power Party (PPP) won 233 of the 480 seats in the polls, which are set to return Thailand to democracy.
Political confidante The PPP has now formed a governing coalition with five smaller parties and is preparing to announce its cabinet line-up.
The men who led Thailand's surprise coup in September 2006 gave themselves a little over a year in office before handing back to a democratic government, which will happen next month. 'Testing the water'
In that time they expected to find enough evidence of corruption during the administrations of Thaksin Shinawatra, both to justify their action and finish his political career. Pojamarn Shinawatra made a brief appearance at the Supreme Court in the capital, Bangkok.
Mr Thaksin has said he will return once a government is in placeBut it has proved more difficult than they anticipated - only two relatively minor charges have been brought against Mr Thaksin and his wife, Pojamarn, who is perhaps his closest political confidante. A judge granted her 90 days to prepare her defence and scheduled the next hearing for 29 April.
She arrived back in Thailand last week amid blanket media coverage - it is thought to test the water for an eventual return by Mr Thaksin himself. She and her husband face charges linked to alleged violation of stock-trading laws and a land sale.
He is still very popular in much of the country, and his political fortunes received a huge boost from the victory in last month's election of the People Power Party (PPP), formed by his associates. The couple deny any wrongdoing and say the charges - the result of an investigation by a military-backed panel - are politically motivated.
The couple could yet face years in prison if found guilty. Correspondents say Pojamarn Shinawatra's return is to test the water for her billionaire husband's possible homecoming.
According to a court statement, Mr Thaksin plans to return to Thailand in May.
The ousted prime minister is still very popular in much of the country and his political fortunes received a huge boost from the PPP victory, says the BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok.
The powerful military and royalist cliques behind the coup are relying on the courts and a new constitution to prevent Mr Thaksin and his allies from wielding the kind of unchallenged power they enjoyed when last in office.The powerful military and royalist cliques behind the coup are relying on the courts and a new constitution to prevent Mr Thaksin and his allies from wielding the kind of unchallenged power they enjoyed when last in office.
Once in government, the PPP has pledged to try to revise the constitution. Once in government, the PPP has pledged to try to revise this new constitution.
There are likely to be several more battles in the year ahead, inside the courts, in parliament and outside, between these two irreconcilable political forces. There are likely to be several more battles in the year ahead, inside the courts, in parliament and outside, between these two irreconcilable political forces, our correspondent says.