Thai court removes Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office

Bangkok, Thailand – Thailand’s Constitutional Court has removed suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office, after finding her guilty of ethical misconduct over a controversial phone call with Cambodia’s former leader, Hun Sen.

The ruling on Friday makes Paetongtarn the fifth prime minister since 2008 to be stripped of office by Thai judges. The nine-judge court ruled that the 39-year-old politician had “seriously violated” the ethical standards required of a prime minister during her call with Hun Sen in June, in which she discussed efforts to prevent an escalation of a deadly border conflict.

The court also said Paetongtarn had “lacked demonstrable honesty and integrity” and had put her personal interests over that of the nation during the conversation.

In the leaked call, Paetongtarn was heard pandering to Hun Sen and calling him “uncle”, while criticising a senior Thai army commander and describing him as an “opponent”.

The court had suspended Paetongtarn on July 1 pending an outcome in the trial.

The border row spiralled in the ensuing into days of armed clashes that killed dozens and displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border.

The fighting ended with a Malaysia-brokered ceasefire on July 29.

Friday’s verdict is the second of three high-stakes court cases against Paetongtarn and her father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The 76-year-old billionaire was cleared of a charge of insulting the country’s powerful monarchy last week, but faces another court case over his stay in a hospital wing instead of prison in 2023 when he retuned to Thailand, after 16 years in exile, to serve a reduced sentence over corruption charges.