Intent on prosecuting several citizens living abroad, Thailand will test the limits of reciprocal extradition agreements by asking U.S. officials to hand over a junta critic living in San Francisco.
A week after making good on a number of outstanding requests from foreign governments including the United States, the Thai government will ask American officials to extradite a man accused of lese majeste and “financing” two men who threw a grenade from a motorcycle into a court parking lot.
On Sunday officials said they’d prepare an extradition request for Manoon “Anek Sanfran” Chaichana who they accuse of providing the money used to hire the attackers. Manoon denies any knowledge of the plot and accuses the junta of using it as a pretext to go after its critics living in exile.
Last week two American fugitives, one accused of fraud the other convicted of manslaughter, were arrested by authorities after apparently living quietly in Thailand.
So far 12 of 14 implicated by authorities in the grenade attack have been arrested, according to Bangkok Post. On Thursday a 49-year-old Thai woman was taken into military custody and accused of planning the attack, which caused no injuries or significant damage.
The aggressive investigatory effort is a stark contrast to this time last year, during the height of anti-government protests, when grenades detonated on a nightly basis without any arrests made.
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