Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has appeared in court in the capital, Bangkok, to plead innocent to corruption charges against him.
Mr Thaksin and US resumes Thailand military aid ...
Thaksin ally elected as Thai PM ... his wife face charges relating to a Bangkok real estate deal.
The telecommunications billionaire denies any wrongdoing and says the charges are politically motivated.
The hearing comes less than two weeks after Mr Thaksin returned to Thailand for the first time since he was ousted in a coup in September 2006.
The military accused him of corruption and seized power while he was out of the country, leaving Mr Thaksin in self-imposed overseas exile.
But his political allies won democratic elections late last year, facilitating his return to the country on 28 February.
UK return
Mr Thaksin has said that he is confident of clearing his name of the charges - brought against him by military-backed investigators.
Together with his wife, he faces two sets of allegations - the first linked to the purchase of a plot of land in central Bangkok and the second to alleged violation of stock-trading laws.
Millions of dollars of his assets have remained frozen since the charges were laid.
The hearing - which relates only to the land sale case - comes a day before Mr Thaksin is due to fly back to the UK.
He owns Manchester City football club and says he has business to attend to there.
The court has approved his visit and says he must return to Thailand by mid-April.
(BBC)
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