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Ousted Thai prime minister takes up Montenegrin citizenship

Published: Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010, 21:51 IST
By Adam Tanner | Place: Podgorica | Agency: Reuters
Safe? Thaksin Shinawatra has moved to Montenegro

Ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has Montenegrin citizenship and arrived there earlier this week, officials in the Balkan country said on Wednesday as thousands of his supporters protested in Bangkok.

A brief statement from the Montenegrin police said Thaksin arrived on a private plane from Dubai on March 13 at the Adriatic coastal airport of Tivat.

"Mr Shinawatra is a Montenegrin citizen and is now located in Montenegro," police spokesperson Tamara Ralevic said in the statement. "Police authorities have no basis to take any action against Mr Shinawatra."

Thaksin was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and was later sentenced in absentia to two years in jail for graft. He fled shortly before his sentence was pronounced and lives mostly in Dubai.

Local media have previously reported that Thaksin had a Montenegrin passport, but the government is yet to explain why the country of 6,70,000 people granted him citizenship.

Thaksin was seen on the Montenegrin coast earlier this week.

Today's police statement was the first confirmation by the authorities of his presence in the country.

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