Yingluck Shinawatra given permission to travel abroad

Thailand’s ousted PM Yingluck Shinawatra has received approval to travel abroad for the first time since the military coup.

A military spokesman said the request had been approved because Yingluck Shinawatra had “kept a low profile” since her government was overthrown on May 22.

Reports suggest Yingluck Shinawatra will travel to France for the birthday of her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra.

The military seized power after months of anti-government protests in Bangkok.

Thaksin Shianwatra, who turns 65 on July 26, was ousted in a coup in 2006.

He was removed by the military, kicking off a cycle of political instability in Thailand. Convicted of corruption by a Thai court, he has been living in self-imposed exile overseas.

Yingluck Shianwatra had asked to travel to Europe from July 20 to August 10, the military said.

They agreed because she had not “violated any orders of the NCPO [military junta] or any agreements, being the ban from politics or the ban on overseas travels” and had “given good co-operation all along”, spokesman Col. Winthai Suvaree told a press conference.

At least 28 people died in the anti-government protests that brought Yingluck Shinawatra’s government down.

Yingluck Shinawatra herself was ousted ahead of the coup by a Constitutional Court ruling that said she had illegally transferred her national security head. She is currently facing charges linked to a controversial government rice subsidy scheme.