Corruption Trial of Former Thai Prime Minister Begins
泰国法庭开始对他信腐败指控庭审
Court proceedings against former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra have begun, the first since he was ousted in a military coup in 2006. Several other corruption investigations against the former leader, his family and associates could go to court in the coming months.
自从泰国前总理他信在2006年的一次军事政变中被推翻后，法庭首次开始了针对他信的庭审程序。他信和他的家人、亲信还受到另外几起腐败指控的调查，这些案子可能在未来几个月里进入司法程序。
Lawyers represented Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife, Potjaman, in court in the proceedings at the Supreme Court.
代表他信及其妻子帕杰曼的律师们在最高法庭的审理中出庭。
They face charges of abuse of power over a land purchase while Mr. Thaksin was prime minister. He is accused of using his influence to enable his wife to buy five hectares through a government agency.
他信和妻子的控罪是，在他信担任泰国总理期间，他在一桩土地买卖中滥用职权。他信被控利用其影响力，让他的妻子通过一个政府部门买下一块5公顷的土地。
The trial is expected to be done by early September.
预计庭审将在9月份完成。
The case has been linked to a new scandal: Three members of the original defense team were arrested and jailed for contempt of court, after being charged with trying to bribe court officials with about $62,000 packed in a lunch box.
这一案子与另一桩新丑闻有关联。三名前辩护小组的成员以蔑视法庭的罪名被捕入狱，他们被指控把大约6万2千美元装在一个午餐盒里，企图贿赂法庭官员。
The opposition Democrat Party leader, Abhisit Vejjajiva, says despite reported attempts to undermine the judicial process he remains confident of the court's neutrality.
泰国的反对党民主党领导人阿比希说，尽管出现了有人企图破坏司法程序的报道，但他对法庭保持中立仍然有信心。
"We know there are clear moves on the part of the government to try to somehow stop those cases - but we still have a strong belief in the neutrality of the courts," said Abhisit. "We were just concerned that before those cases get to the courts they may somehow get stopped by interference from the government. We do not want that to happen."
他说：“我们知道，政府为了阻止这些案子进入法律程序做出一些明显举动，但是我们对法庭的中立仍然坚信不疑。我们曾经担心，在法庭审理这些案子之前，有可能受到政府干预，以某种方式阻止案子进入法律程序。我们不希望发生这样的事。”
Other cases against Mr. Thaksin include allegations of irregular loans from a state-owned bank, a special lottery project, and a $120 million loan by Thailand's Export-Import Bank to Burma's military government.
他信受到其他指控的案子有，从一家国有银行获取违规贷款，设立一个特别的彩票项目，以及泰国进出口银行向缅甸军政府发放的一笔1亿2千万美元贷款。
Mr. Thaksin's wife also faces a court ruling later this month over charges of tax evasion involving the transfer of shares associated with the former family company, the Shin Corporation.
他信的妻子本月晚些时候也会面对一项法庭裁决，指控她在出售前家族企业--Shin集团的股票时有逃税行为。
The former prime minister sold the company in 2006 to a Singapore investment fund, and his family managed to avoid paying taxes on their gain of nearly $2 billion.
前总理他信在2006年将该集团出售给新加坡的一家投资基金，得款近20亿美元，但他信家人却设法避免交纳所得税。
The sale contributed to rising opposition to Mr. Thaksin and sparked massive protests against him. He was overthrown in the military coup in September 2006.
这场交易壮大了泰国反对他信的力量，并激起大规模的抗议他信的示威。2006年9月他信在一起军事政变中被推翻。
The military government set up a special committee to investigate corruption allegations against Mr. Thaksin and members of his government. The committee finalized its work at the end of June, but other cases are being investigated by the National Counter Corruption Commission.
泰国军政府建立了一个特别委员会，调查针对他信及其政府成员的腐败指称。这个委员会6月底完成了任务，不过泰国国家反腐败委员会还在调查其他案子。
The current government, elected last December, is seen as being closely allied with Mr. Thaksin. Many opposition politicians and their supporters are calling for the government to resign over various issues, including what some critics say are attempts to end the corruption investigations. For weeks, several-thousand people have peacefully protested around the main government buildings in Bangkok.
