Thailand's Supreme Court braces for Yingluck's judgement day

Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-25 00:36:35|Editor: ying

THAILAND-BANGKOK-COURT-YINGLUCK-SECURITY

Police patrol near the Supreme Court of Thailand in Bangkok Aug. 25, 2017. The Supreme Court of Thailand on Thursday braced itself for the verdict against former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's rice-pledging case on Friday with tightened security. (Xinhua/Li Mangmang)

BANGKOK, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Supreme Court of Thailand on Thursday braced itself for the verdict against former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's rice-pledging case on Friday with tightened security.

By Thursday night, 400 police have been standby at the court and 4,000 police, supported by 20 riot-control vehicles, will be deployed around the court's compound on Friday.

A special 1,600 square-meter area has already been prepared for Yingluck's supporters which will be able to hold approximately 5,000 people.

A tight security cordon will become effective on Friday after which the Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) units will carry out an inspection of the entire compound.

The court said the verdict will not be televised and mobile devices are not permitted in the court either, with only 100 people allowed to attend the verdict.

Yingluck was accused of negligence in her handling of a multi-billion-dollar rice subsidy scheme, under which the government bought rice from farmers at inflated prices.

If a guilty verdict goes, she would become Thailand's first female politician facing a jail term up to 10 years.

As many as 3,000 supporters of Yingluck are expected to show up on Friday.

Yingluck's attorney said the former prime minister confirmed that she would arrive at the court before 9:30 a.m. on Friday.

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KEY WORDS: Yingluck
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