Britain revokes visa of ex-Thai PM Thaksin

BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- British authorities have revoked the visas of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife, the Thai Foreign Ministry said Saturday.

Thaksin left Thailand in August, just as he was to appear in court to answer to corruption charges.

A deputy spokesman for the Thai Foreign Ministry said he confirmed the revocation of the visas with British authorities in Thailand.

A spokeswoman for the British Home Office offered no details.

"We do not comment on individual cases," she said.

Last month, Thailand's Supreme Court ruled that Thaksin had abused his powers while in office. It convicted him of violating a law that bans ministers or their wives from conducting business with government agencies.

The court sentenced the twice-elected leader to two years in prison after finding him guilty on one count in a case that stemmed from a Bangkok land deal.

In the land deal, Thaksin's wife, Pojama, was accused of using her husband's political influence to buy undeveloped land from a government agency for about a third of its estimated value.

The case was one of several corruption cases against Thaksin and his family that are winding their way through the legal system.

The billionaire is accused of abusing the country's system of checks and balances and bending government policy to benefit his family's business.

Thaksin has consistently denied that he or his family was involved in any wrongdoing.

Thaksin and his wife skipped a court appearance and fled to Britain in August rather than testify in the real estate case. He said he did so because he did not think he would get a fair trial in Thailand.

A telecommunications tycoon, Thaksin once owned the English Premier League football club Manchester City.

His party won two landslide victories before he was deposed in a bloodless military coup in September 2006 after massive anti-government street protests.

He returned to Thailand after his allies in the People Power Party (PPP) won nearly half the seats in the lower house in December's parliamentary elections and formed the ruling coalition.

In recent months the country has seen ongoing demonstrations by anti-government protesters who want Thaksin to face trial in the corruption cases. The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which is leading the protests, also wants to unseat the democratically elected Thai government, accusing the ruling PPP of trying to amend the constitution so Thaksin does not have to face charges.

Anti-government protests began in March -- and the country has seen almost daily demonstrations since. Demonstrators have clashed with pro-government supporters and with police -- sometimes with fatal results.

Last month, the protesters accomplished one of their goals when Thailand's Constitutional Court stripped Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej of his position. The court ruled that he had violated the constitution by appearing as a paid guest on a television cooking show.

The PAD had been demanding Samak's ouster, calling him a Thaksin proxy.

The PPP responded by picking Thaksin's brother-in-law as Samak's replacement, further inflaming the protesters who have continued their campaign.

CNN's Kocha Olarn and Melissa Gray contributed to this report.

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