Bangkok: Thailand could seek the extradition of its ousted and exiled prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra if he fails to meet a police summon next week, the justice minister said today.

Thaksin and his wife Pojaman, who are both overseas, have been ordered to appear before police by next Friday to hear fraud charges against them.

Justice Minister Chanchai Likhitjitta warned that if Thaksin failed to comply with the summons, Thailand could seek to have him extradited. "Thaksin must return to Thailand to defend himself against the allegations," Chanchai told reporters. "If he does not show up, then there could be an arrest warrant," he said. "And if he still does not come back, the attorney general will notify foreign countries to extradite him," he added.

Police accuse Thaksin and Pojaman of making fraudulent filings to regulators in the listing of a property company in 2003.
Thaksin's lawyer has urged police to allow Thaksin and Pojaman to hear the charges overseas, saying the billionaire ex-premier feared for his safety in Thailand.

Army-installed Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont urged Thaksin to return and reiterated a pledge to guarantee his safety in the kingdom. "He should come back. If the law requires him to return, then he has to return, otherwise he will face additional legal troubles," Surayud said in his weekly television broadcast.

Prosecutors this week filed corruption charges in a different case against Thaksin and Pojaman at the Supreme Court. The judges said they would toss out the case unless the couple appear in person.

Thaksin has lived in exile since the coup, mainly in London, while his wife was hospitalised in Singapore earlier this week.
Neither has given any indication that they might return, and Thaksin has denied any wrongdoing by his family.

The legal onslaught against Thaksin has sparked daily protests by his supporters, who have taken to the streets every night this month to demand that the junta step down.

Surayud urged Thaksin to fight his case in the courts rather than on the streets. "The best place to defend himself is through the judicial process in court, where he can prove himself rather instigating unrest with mass protests," he said.