Council gives ruling on Thaksin's rank

       The Council of State believes the sentencing of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to two years in jail is enough justification to strip him of his police rank and royal decorations.
       The council ruling has been sent to the Cabinet Secretariat along with guidelines to strip Thaksin of his rank of police lieutenant colonel and the royal decorations bestowed on him.
       The ruling came after the Royal Thai Police queried whether Thaksin's conviction was sufficient to strip him of his rank.
       It claimed Thaksin was sentenced to prison for violating the rule on conflicts of interest under the anticorruption law. He was cleared of malfeasance charges under articles 152 and 157 of the Criminal Code.
       The police's position was that the offence was political, and so might not be enough to warrant revoking his rank under police regulations.
       The Council of State, the government's legal arm, yesterday said the prison sentence handed down by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions met all the conditions required to revoke Thaksin's rank and royal decorations.
       As long as the jail sentence imposed on Thaksin was considered final, he should lose his rank regardless of the court in which he was tried.
       The council cited PM's Office regulations on royal decorations which stipulate that a person can lose them if a jail sentence is considered final.
       It said the police could only seek to revoke the royal decorations associated with Thaksin's police rank.
       The Cabinet Secretariat or other agencies could seek to revoke the other decorations.