BANGKOK: Former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra may have fled to Dubai, a senior party source told AFP Saturday, after slipping out of the country to avoid a court ruling in an escape act that stunned many Thais.
Yingluck, 50, was on Friday morning due to arrive at the Supreme Court for the ruling in her trial for criminal negligence that could have seen her jailed for 10 years.
But she did not show up, catching many flat-footed as she wrote a dramatic closing chapter to the 16-year political saga of her mega-rich Shinawatra family.
The political dynasty emerged in 2001 with a series of groundbreaking pro-poor welfare schemes that won them elections but rattled Thailand’s royalist, army-aligned elite, who battered Shinawatra governments with coups, court cases and protests.
Yingluck’s government was toppled by a coup in 2014 and she was put on trial over negligence linked to a costly rice subsidy that propped up her rural political base.
The Pheu Thai party source, who requested anonymity, confirmed Yingluck had fled the country a few days before the ruling and “may be in Dubai.”
Family patriarch Thaksin, Yingluck’s elder brother, has been based partly in Dubai since he fled Thailand in 2008 to avoid jail for a corruption conviction. He was toppled from power by a 2006 coup.
Speculation swirled on Saturday about Yingluck’s possible escape route from Thailand.
Many newspapers reported that she fled through a land border to Cambodia, flew to Singapore and on to Dubai, perhaps two days before her court date.
It was a disappearing act that appeared to surprise even her family — an elder brother and sister waited at the court for her arrival alongside thousands of supporters.
Shinawatra loyalists expressed sympathy with her shock move, saying the ruling would have been predetermined as her case was politically motivated.
“If she has fled abroad it is because this set of judges are appointed by the military and do not come from a democratic system,” Surachet Chaikosol, 59, a ‘Red Shirt’ activist told AFP.
“I am glad she will not suffer in jail.”
Thai junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha on Friday denied knowledge of Yingluck’s whereabouts and expressed surprise at her no-show “as she always insisted that she would fight the case.”
The junta, police and her political network remained tight-lipped on Saturday about the details of her flight and the likelihood of a possible deal to allow her to leave.
Analysts say Yingluck, who was closely monitored by Thai security services, most likely cut a deal to exit the country.
Flight avoids her being jailed under a Thai junta that pressed for her trial and diminishes the possibility of pro-Shinawatra protests.
The military is desperate to avoid instability as it digs in for a long stay in Thai politics.
The Supreme Court will deliver its ruling in absentia on September 27.
Fugitive Thai ex-PM Yingluck ‘may be in Dubai’: party source
Fugitive Thai ex-PM Yingluck ‘may be in Dubai’: party source
Palestine Action-linked detainee to stand in UK local elections
- Amu Gib’s campaign will focus on both local concerns and broader political issues, including UK policy on Israel and Palestine
DUBAI: A pro-Palestine activist held on remand in the UK will stand as a candidate in May’s local council elections, according to recent local media reports.
Amu Gib, who has been in custody since July 2025 while awaiting trial over alleged links to direct action by the group Palestine Action, was selected by the Islington Community Independents to run in a north London ward.
The charges relate to an alleged break-in at RAF Brize Norton, where activists are accused of damaging aircraft they believed were connected to UK support for Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Gib has not been convicted of any offense.
The 30-year-old recently took part in a hunger strike organized by Prisoners for Palestine, which lasted 49 days and ended in December.
Supporters said Gib’s candidacy aims to raise awareness of the war in Gaza as well as local issues, including housing and education. If elected, Gib would be able to carry out council duties remotely while remaining in custody, under UK law.
Islington Community Independents said the campaign would focus on both local concerns and broader political issues, including UK policy on Israel and Palestine.
Meanwhile, the case comes amid a legal dispute over the government’s decision to ban Palestine Action.
Britain’s High Court ruled earlier this month that the group’s proscription under anti-terrorism laws was “disproportionate and unlawful,” saying most of its activities did not meet the threshold for terrorism and that the ban interfered with the right to protest.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the government would appeal the ruling, leaving the legal status of more than 2,500 people arrested for alleged support for the group uncertain.
