Exiled Thai PM prepares extradition fight in UK

BANGKOK, Aug 17 (Reuters) Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, living in exile in London since a bloodless coup last year, has hired lawyers in Britain to fight any extradition case by Bangkok, his spokesman said today.

Thaksin, for whom an arrest warrant was issued this week after he failed to turn up in court to answer corruption charges, would contest any extradition attempt all the way through the British courts, Noppadon Pattama told reporters.

He would argue the charges he faces in Bangkok were politically motivated, said Noppadon, Thaksin's lawyer in Bangkok, where prosecutors say they are working on the possibility of seeking his extradition. ''The lawyers in England are preparing documents and evidence to show the court that everything against Mr Thaksin, from the court to the asset freeze and disbanding of his political party, has been done for political reasons,'' Noppadon said.

Noppadon said he expected the extradition procedure to last at least a year from when the British Foreign Office received an extradition request from Bangkok.

An anti-corruption committee set up by the military after the coup has frozen at least 1.5 billion dollars of Thaksin's money in Thai bank accounts, and prosecutors won an arrest warrant for him from the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

The committee is also investigating the source of the money Thaksin used to buy English Premier League soccer club Manchester City, a move which has helped keep his profile high in Thailand despite his protestations that he has quit politics.

Thaksin says he will return to face trial only once democracy is restored, arguing he could not get a fair trial while the military was in charge.

''The military ousted me and my democratically elected government, but they cannot destroy the Thai people's desire for democracy through their smear campaign,'' he said in a brief statement today.

A draft constitution drawn up by a military-appointed committee goes to a referendum on Sunday, when the local derby match between Manchester City and Manchester United will be shown live on Thai cable television.

REUTERS ARB HS1618