Supporters react, above and below, to the news that Shinawatra is to have his assets frozen
Thaksin Shinawatra lashed out at the Thai courts after being told 46.3billion baht of his assets will be frozen
Thailand's top court has frozen 46.3billion baht (£923million) of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's assets after ruling he had concealed his wealth and abused his power for personal gain.
The court said Thaksin had concealed his ownership of shares in his family telecommunications conglomerate Shin Corp during his five years in office and geared government policies to benefit the company.
But it left him with about $590million, declaring it would be 'unfair' to seize money he amassed before he was made premier.
The amount was far less than expected, a decision that could appease some anti-government forces.
The judges said Thaksin had abused his power in all five major cases against him, which included shaping telecoms and satellite policies, including concessions fees and state loans, to benefit Shin Corp.
Thaksin, the former owner of Manchester City Football Club, was ousted in a 2006 coup and convicted in absentia of graft.
He denied the charges from self-imposed exile in Dubai.
After the verdict, he said he was not surprised. 'The Thai law is like an assumption. It severely fails to meet international standards,' he said in a video-link to about 800 supporters who gathered to rally behind him.
Some of his red-shirted supporters cried or sobbed quietly, while others shouted in frustration and anger.
Authorities said major violence was unlikely in response to the ruling but mobilised thousands of police and troops to pre-empt any backlash by supporters of the 60-year-old fugitive.
'The partial seizure of the assets should be what financial markets prefer because both sides can claim victory,' said Prapas Tonpibulsak, chief investment officer at Ayudhya Fund Management.
Security remained tight around Bangkok's Supreme Court on what has become known as 'Judgment Day', with cellphone signals jammed to prevent remote-detonated bombings and judges ferried to the courthouse, some from safe houses, in bullet-proof cars.
Six-hundred police guarded the court. Security agencies said thousands of riot troops were on standby in case of unrest.
Thaksin's critics will see the guilty verdict as the culmination of a process to cleanse Thai politics that began with protests in 2006 calling for his ousting for alleged corruption, which segued into a military coup in September that year.
They also accuse him of disrespecting the country's constitutional monarch, 82-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
His supporters will view the ruling as the latest in a series of injustices that drove a democratically elected leader from office despite two sweeping election victories.
They believe he is being persecuted because the traditional urban ruling class felt threatened when he empowered the country's rural majority, which was grateful for Thaksin's innovative social welfare programmes.
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