A Thai court has approved an arrest warrant for fugitive former PM Thaksin Shinawatra on terrorism charges over the deadly Red Shirt protests in Bangkok.
The Thai government has accused Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 coup, of bankrolling and masterminding Thailand's worst political violence in recent history.
"A court approved the... request to issue an arrest warrant against Thaksin," said Naras Savestanan, deputy chief of the Department of Special Investigations which submitted the request.
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"A court found there was enough evidence so it issued an arrest warrant," Naras told reporters after the hearing, which was closed to the press.
Dozens killed in Bangkok unrest
Riots and unrest which have swept across Bangkok in recent weeks have left 88 dead and hundreds more injured.
Thaksin lives in exile to avoid a jail sentence for corruption, but the government has exerted pressure on countries he has visited and moved to freeze his finances.
Terrorism charges carry a maximum penalty of death in Thailand, but the warrant appears aimed at boosting attempts to extradite the former premier, who has found sanctuary in several countries.
Thaksin is idolised by many Red Shirts for his populist policies, including cheap health care and village funds, but Thai elites see him as corrupt, authoritarian and a threat to the revered monarchy.
Thaksin's image featured on T-shirts, banners and headbands worn by Reds during the two months of rallies crushed in an army offensive last week, but opinion is divided on how much control he now exerts over the movement.
