Ousted Thai PM appears in court

Thaksin Shinawatra arrived back in Thailand last month

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has appeared in court in the capital, Bangkok, to plead not guilty to corruption charges against him.

Mr Thaksin and 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.

Mr Thaksin said little during his 20-minute court session on Wednesday, and his next hearing has been set for the end of April.

UK return

Together with his wife, Mr Thaksin 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.

THAKSIN TIMELINE September 2006: Military coup overthrows Thaksin, who goes into overseas exile May 2007: Thaksin is banned from politics for five years, and his party is dissolved July 2007: Thaksin becomes owner of Manchester City FC December 2007: The PPP party, made up largely of Thaksin's followers, wins the general election February 2008: Thaksin returns to Thailand

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.

Mr Thaksin's return to Thailand has fuelled speculation that he could be planning a political comeback.

But in a news conference on Tuesday, the ousted prime minister emphasised that he had no such plans and said he bore no ill will towards the coup leaders.

"Let bygones be bygones," he said. "We are moving ahead. Let's move the country forward."

He would devote his time to business interests and charity work, he said.