Ex-wife of exiled former Thai PM returns to Bangkok

BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- The ex-wife of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned to Bangkok Friday to visit her ailing mother, a source close to the family told CNN.

Pojaman Shinawatra, 51, and Thaksin went into exile in July, after a court sentenced her to three years imprisonment for tax evasion.

She has appealed the conviction and is free on bail. There was no information on how long she might stay in the country.

The two, who have been living in Hong Kong, divorced there in November.

Thailand has been steeped in political turmoil since Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 coup and left the country. He was convicted in absentia of abusing power.

Anti-government demonstrators who closed down Bangkok's main airport for a week want Thaksin extradited and tried on the corruption charges. The airport reopened Wednesday.

Although Thaksin was removed from power in a coup in 2006, protesters have accused successive governments and the People Power Party (PPP) of serving as proxies for Thaksin.

He returned to Thailand after PPP's victory in 2007, but fled the country again just as he was to appear in the corruption case.

-- CNN's Dan Rivers contributed to this report.

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