Former Thai PM granted Serbian citizenship

Thai authorities have no immediate reaction to reports that the country's fugitive former prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, has been granted Serbian citizenship.

Serbia's state news agency Tanjug reported Thursday that she was granted citizenship "because it could be in the interest of Serbia." Serbian officials offered no explanation.

Thailand's former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra waves to supporters as she arrives at the Supreme Court in Bangkok, Thailand on August 1, 2017. [File Photo: IC]

Yingluck fled Thailand in 2017 just days before she was convicted of negligence for implementing a revenue-draining rice subsidy scheme. She and her supporters say the case was politically motivated. She was forced from her job by a controversial 2014 court decision. Her government was toppled by a military coup shortly afterward.

Thai foreign ministry spokeswoman Busadee Santipitaks said Friday she was unable to comment and that the Serbian foreign ministry had not contacted Thai authorities.