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AFP
BANGKOK
MORE THAN 4,000 police will guard Thailand's Supreme Court on Friday when judges announce a verdict in the case of ousted prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, accused of negligence over a costly rice subsidy policy.
Thailand's first female prime minister, toppled by a military coup in 2014, faces up to ten years in prison if convicted and a life ban from politics under the new military-drafted constitution.
Thousands of supporters are expected to turn up outside the court in northern Bangkok for the ruling in defiance of the junta's calls for people to stay at home.
Some 3,000 protesters are expected, deputy Bangkok police commissioner Major General Panurat Lakboon told reporters Monday.
"Police will deploy anti-riot forces to provide security... the total will be 4,000 officers,"Panurat said.
Supporters would not be allowed to"invade the court vicinity"but would be permitted to gather nearby.
Yingluck's previous court appearances have seen increasingly large crowds gather outside the court, showering her with roses and chanting -- a rare sight in a nation where political gatherings remain outlawed.
But her flagship rice scheme, to pay farmers nearly twice the market rate for their crop, was one of the policies which prompted large-scale protests against her administration.
