Thai Court Suspends PM Paetongtarn Over Leaked Cambodia Call

Thailand’s Constitutional Court on 1 July suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, voting 7–2 to accept a petition from 36 senators that accuses her of breaching ministerial ethics. Shinawatra said she accepts the ruling, which forbids her from performing premierial duties while the case proceeds. Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit has assumed the role of caretaker prime minister. Shinawatra has 15 days to submit her defence.

The petition centres on a leaked 15 June telephone call in which Shinawatra addressed Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen as “uncle,” criticised a Thai army commander and pledged to “take care” of Cambodian concerns during an escalating border dispute. Petitioners say the conversation showed dishonesty and an undue deference that undermined national sovereignty; Shinawatra insists the call aimed to defuse tensions and prevent casualties.

The suspension deepens political turbulence that has been building since late May, when a skirmish on the contested frontier left a Cambodian soldier dead and both sides reinforced troops. Thailand closed key land crossings on 24 June, stranding scores of travellers and cutting commerce. Public anger culminated in an estimated 17,000-strong rally in Bangkok on 28 June, with demonstrators demanding Shinawatra’s resignation and a conservative coalition partner quitting the government.

Shinawatra, Thailand’s youngest and third member of her family to hold the premiership, had been in office less than a year. Her father, billionaire ex-leader Thaksin Shinawatra, appeared in court the same day on separate royal-defamation charges, underscoring the dynasty’s legal pressures. Investors bet that the added uncertainty could prompt easier monetary policy; the SET Index gained about 1.8 % after the court’s announcement.